


Second Chances Shouldn't Go To Waste

by Nellz



Series: Try Hard [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gay Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Kidnapping, M/M, Mpreg, Paranoia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape/Non-con Elements, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse, Smut, Suicidal Thoughts, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:22:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellz/pseuds/Nellz
Summary: The war is over after only two days and Naruto can't seem to believe that peace has finally been achieved. Orochimaru is given another chance and Naruto is recruited as his bodyguard while Hashirama and Tobirama are Naruto's bodyguards, not that the former Hokages mind.Orochimaru recognizes Naruto's post-war depression and tries to comfort the blonde, but he doesn't know how so they flounder around like a couple of idiots while Tobirama realizes the value of a camera (lol).Can the two idiots help each other or was this predestined to fail, like Neji likes to say?WARNING: NOT AS FLUFFY AS THE SUMMARY SAYS. It will seem fluffy at first, but trust me it will get dark soon enough. If you don't like mentions of abusive boyfriends or mentions of people using other people for sex, this fanfic IS NOT FOR YOU. Please move along.Pairings: Orochimaru x Naruto (Ochinaru?), one-sided Sasunaru, SasusakuI feel like this description doesn't do this story justice, so read on!Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters, just this plot.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru/Uzumaki Naruto, Senju Tobirama/Tsunade, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Try Hard [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084916
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while listening to Surrender by Natalie Taylor, it was on a one hour loop (I like listening to certain songs like this when I'm writing as I tend to forget that the songs change in a playlist. It also helps to set a certain mood so I can write- in this case, a depressive mood)
> 
> I also listened to Am I Supposed to Apologize by Maria Mena, also in a one hour loop. I believe the first song fits this chapter well, while this one is like Naruto's Theme Song.
> 
> For those of you who don't know, this is the original SCSGTW. I got rid of the old one since I wanted this one to be Part One of the Try Hard series.
> 
> Since the rewrite is drastically different, I'll be posting the rewrite as a separate story and as Part Two of the Try Hard series.
> 
> The sequel will follow Part Two's timeline. If you have any questions regarding this series, feel free to ask me!
> 
> And no, this does not mean that I am back to posting regularly. Since this story is already done, all I have to do is copy and paste. I will be posting the first chapter of the rewrite later either today or this week and then I'll be gone again indefinitely.
> 
> Have a Happy New Year!

Naruto slowly walked the battlefield in the pale light of the sunrise. He couldn't believe that the war was finally over, although it had only taken place in two days. He couldn't believe that Madara had given his life to bring everyone who had died in the war: Neji Hyuuga, Inochi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Obito Uchiha, Muta Aburame, and many more. Everyone was celebrating the victory in Konoha, but all Naruto could do was remember his father's parting words.

For some reason, only Itachi Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze had been released from the Edo Tensei. Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had been completely reanimated, much to Orochimaru's consternation. It had been weird to see the formally insane sannin panicking and the first two Hokages trying to calm the man down. Well, Hashirama had been trying -and failing- to calm the man down and Tobirama had just watched in amusement.

Tsunade had outright laughed at her former teammate, which had confused her grandfather and great uncle. Orochimaru had mumbled something about drunk Hokages, which had doubled Tobirama's amusement

Naruto's eyes glazed as he couldn't help but remember his father's final words: _I'm so proud of you_. He wanted to believe his father, but he couldn't. His father didn't see what he went through and the choices he had made, although his chakra had been sealed with him.

Naruto lost track of time as he walked. He had no destination in mind as he walked. It felt like he was waiting, though for what he couldn't tell.

Maybe he was waiting for Madara to rise out of the dust, laughing maniacally, and say "SIKE!" Maybe he was waiting for Sasuke to destroy Konoha as he had promised. Maybe he was waiting for Orochimaru to do the Edo Tensei as one of Naruto's friends as a sacrifice and destroy Konoha.

Perhaps he was just waiting for Konoha to be destroyed like he had been preparing for. It felt _off_ to have a non-destroyed Konoha not too far away, with all the Shinobi and villagers happily celebrating. Orochimaru was probably in the celebration, laughing happily as well.

For some reason the picture of Orochimaru laughing happily caused Naruto to shiver in disgust.

It was still early morning when Sakura slowly walked up to Naruto, "Naruto-baka, you should be in Konoha celebrating!"

Naruto scoffed, "And give the villagers a chance to hate me more? No thanks, I'd rather be here or in my apartment." His voice was soft and unlike his usual brashness and Sakura was caught off guard.

"Well, I'd rather you be off of this battlefield. The dust isn't good for your health."

Naruto nodded mutely and the duo ran off to Konoha. Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that something was _wrong_ as they ran and was on high alert the whole run back. If Sakura noticed, she didn't say anything, probably thinking that he was still running off adrenaline and would calm down once they got back to the safety of Konoha.

Only, that didn't happen. Naruto remained on high alert even inside of Konoha, although he seemed out of it as he went straight to his old apartment. Sakura's nose wrinkled in disgust as she remembered the state of it when Naruto had lived in the small apartment. It didn't seem any different.

What confused Sakura was the fact that the apartment wasn't _his_ anymore, it belonged to some unlucky soul unfortunate enough to only be able to afford the apartment.

Naruto jolted when he remembered that Tsunade had gotten him a new apartment. He left the run-down apartment and instead of going to his new apartment, he fled to the cliff that held the Hokage's heads. He didn't see Hashirama nor Tobirama on the same cliff and sat down on his father's head, knees tucked into his chest and his head resting atop of his knees.

After a few minutes of watching the dejected blonde, Sakura left to report to Tsunade, who was busy telling Orochimaru that he had three choices: Either he joins the medical field as either a doctor or a medical-nin, he joins the regular jounin force, or he joins neither and gets a mental evaluation and gets put wherever Tsunade wants him if he passes the test.

Sakura withheld her scoff, not wanting to get on Tsunade's bad side. The last time she had gotten on her bad side, Tsunade had trained Sakura until she dropped and then more and Sakura didn't want a repeat performance.

"I would like to sleep on the choice, if possible," Orochimaru politely.

Tsunade nodded, "You may sleep on it, but someone has to watch over you, preferably someone you trust."

Orochimaru nodded, thinking about everyone that he knew. Kabuto was in prison, so he was out of the picture. Sasuke and his teammates didn't want anything to do with the sannin, which was understandable.

"Lady Tsunade, I found Naruto," Sakura stated without preamble. "He was wandering on the battlefield. I escorted him back to Konoha and noticed that he was highly alert to his surroundings. This didn't change when we entered Konoha, but he was out of it and went back to his old apartment. When he realized that the apartment wasn't his anymore, he jolted and ran to the Hokage heads. He didn't acknowledge the presence of either Hashirama-sama or Tobirama-sama who were on their respective heads."

Tsunade looked troubled at the report and Orochimaru spoke up, "If I may?" Tsunade nodded dejectedly and Orochimaru continued, "May I speak with Naruto-kun? I would like to give him some stories about his parents and Jiraiya."

Tsunade looked thoughtful for a moment, then slowly nodded, "If you think that might help then yes. Sakura, please tell Hashirama-ojii and Tobirama-oji to come to me, I have a task for them, though they may not like it."

Sakura bowed and then left the tower with Orochimaru in tow. It took them only a minute for them to climb the cliff and find Naruto, Hashirama, and Tobirama. Naruto was in the same position as before, although now he was watching the former Hokages out of the corner of his eye, which unnerved the older men.

"Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama, Tsunade-sama requests your presence. She has a task for you two," Sakura said, bowing to the two men. Hashirama and Tobirama politely bowed to the pink-haired girl and took off towards the tower after giving the blonde boy a concerned look.

Naruto looked over to the newcomers, finally, and raised an eyebrow when he saw Orochimaru.

Orochimaru sat on Hiruzen's head, "I heard that you... don't know a lot about your parents or your godfather."

Naruto brightened up slightly, a nearly extinguished hope showing in his hopeful eyes, "Ano... did you know them?"

"I did not know your parents personally, but I heard a lot about them from Jiraiya, who was my teammate when I was younger. Minato was also Jiraiya's pupil and Kushina liked to talk to him whenever he visited them. Kushina was much like you, she had a fiery temperament and liked to pull pranks, while Minato was calm and confident. I always thought that Minato was a bit... arrogant but Jiraiya loved him like a son, so I never said anything."

Orochimaru talked with Naruto until late afternoon, telling him everything that he could remember about his parents, including the story of how they had fallen in love. Naruto laughed and cried while Orochimaru talked, but he didn't say a word, letting Orochimaru say what he wanted to.

"I know for a fact that they'd be proud of you... and I don't say that because Minato's Edo Tensei said so, I say that because you stopped a war and both of your parents were peace-lovers, although Minato and Kushina did get in their fair share of fighting."

Naruto chuckled and flashed Orochimaru his infamous grin, his depression and paranoia were temporarily forgotten in favor of an almost long-lost hope.

"Naruto-kun... would you mind if you watched over me tonight?"

Naruto squinted, "W h a t?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "It's nothing like that. Tsunade gave me a few choices and I want to sleep on it. She wanted me to get someone to watch me so I don't do anything that goes against my word. Plus, you'd make sure I wouldn't get hurt if someone wanted me dead."

Naruto blinked, "...You trust... _me_? Did you forget about the "fox hunts" that happen later tonight? Sure, the villagers haven't done anything since I've returned, but I'd rather not risk it."

"Why wouldn't I trust you?" Orochimaru asked, startling Naruto. "I'll protect you and you'll protect me."

Naruto nodded, a bit disoriented, and couldn't help grinning at the thought that _someone trusted him with their life_. Orochimaru saw him grinning and smiled sadly, which didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. She just scoffed and escorted the duo back to the tower.

Hashirama and Tobirama were long gone by the time the trio made it to the tower.

"Tsunade, I've made my choice on who will watch me tonight." Orochimaru began, not letting his former female teammate speak as he continued, "I'd like Naruto-kun to be my bodyguard for tonight or as however long he needs to be if he agrees."

Tsunade nodded, "If he agrees, then he'll do."

Naruto bristled, "What do you mean, I'll do?" Orochimaru and Sakura chuckled at Naruto's antics.

"Gaki, it means you'll do," Tsunade responded, smirking.

Orochimaru briefly wondered if they existed just to get on each other's nerves.

Naruto huffed and grabbed Orochimaru's arm and left the office, a chuckling sannin in tow. They made it to Naruto's apartment in record time, which was already impressive.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly as he apologized for the mess before seeing Hashirama and Tobirama cleaning.

"...."

Tobirama nudged his older brother, getting Hashirama to look up at the two.

Hashirama grinned and Naruto's eye twitched, much to Tobbirama's and Orochimaru's amusement, "Hello Naruto-kun, Orochimaru-kun! Tsunade-chan asked us to protect Naruto-kun tonight, in case the villagers try to hurt him tonight."

Orochimaru gently nudged Naruto, "See? You're safe tonight. Tsunade- _chan_ 's got your back. Besides, you got the Shodaime Hokage, Nidaime Hokage, _and_ the Snake Sannin looking after you. If anything happens, then you have one hell of a pursuer."

Naruto slowly relaxed, "Yeah... I guess you're right Orochimaru-san."

\----

Near midnight, a dark figure silently entered Naruto's apartment. The figure was obviously a shinobi, as he was perfectly silent as he paced the house. The black-clad shinobi finally made it to Naruto's room. They wrinkled their nose at the orange wallpaper.

The figure gently pressed Naruto's pressure point, making sure that the boy would stay unconscious. The shinobi took great pains to gently pick the blonde up and then he left the house as silently as he came in.

\----

Nearly two hours later, Hashirama, Tobirama, and Orochimaru were standing outside a house in the middle of the Forest of Death. They didn't want to enter the house to see the inevitable, but they did.

They stayed alert as they walked inside the house, but they didn't need to be as the kidnapper was dead. Naruto was in Kurama's Tailed Beast Mode standing over the dead figure, although he looked calm. As soon as Naruto saw the three men, he relaxed and let the mode fall away.

Hashirama went up to Naruto and checked him for major injuries that Kurama or the other Tailed Beasts could have missed. There was only a large wound on his thigh and a minor cut on his stomach, and Hashirama helped to heal them despite Naruto's protests.

"Brat, let my Aniki help you. He'll do it even if you ask him not to," Tobirama said, his voice deep and filled with concern for the young blonde.

Naruto huffed, "Fine. I still don't see _why_ he's so worried I always heal quickly because of my Uzumaki bloodline. Also, Kurama's got me!"

Orochimaru flinched at Naruto's words. It was spoken out of fear that nobody liked him enough to worry about his well-being.

"Naruto-kun, Hashirama-sama is a medical-nin. Medical-nins always work to heal others before themselves," Orochimaru reasoned.

Naruto nodded his acceptance and Hashirama smiled kindly at the blonde, who shifted. He was unused to such attention and it bothered him slightly.

After Naruto had healed up, Hashirama made a treehouse big enough to house all four of them comfortably. Naruto blinked, he didn't think that they'd do what he usually did during the "fox hunts" and camp out in the Forest of Death until morning.

They each picked a room and all four of them easily fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! Neanai here!
> 
> 1)Warning: THIS IS NOT A FLUFF BOOK. The first few chapters are going to be very fluffy, but trust me when I say that this book will get DARK. This book talks about suicide, PTSD, and even has a homicide innuendo at one point. If you are uncomfortable with these types of things, STOP READING. I will add a warning to the top of each potentially triggering chapter, but I will not add multiple warnings inside the chapter since that will break the story up too much. The only exception to this is when smexy times happen. If there are flashbacks/nightmares I will add a warning above them, so you can skip it UNLESS the flashback/nightmares are ESSENTIAL to the story.
> 
> 2) THERE WILL BE SMEXY LEMONY TIMES. A LOT of them, especially between three people (not all at once). If you are uncomfortable with dubious consenting, this book is not for you (at least the first part isn't). If you are uncomfortable with people using someone else as a rebound (only for them to fall for them later on) this book is also not for you.
> 
> 3)There will be suicidal innuendos and even suicide attempts. If that type of thing is triggering for you, please do not read. There is a reason why this is under the "abusive-relationship" tag.
> 
> 4) If you are uncomfortable with someone abusing someone else sexually and physically, please stop reading this.
> 
> Also, I apologize if this chapter is a bit long, I didn't know how to stop it, so it's about 14 pages long on Google Docs.
> 
> If you enjoy it, don't forget to vote and comment.
> 
> Thanks for bearing with this long introduction. Onwards to the story!

Naruto woke up first. He was surprised when he saw Hashirama and Tobirama still asleep, but chalked it up to chakra exhaustion, despite the two Hokages being very powerful. He walked into the room Orochimaru claimed and saw him also asleep. _He looks cute when he's asleep, he doesn't look insane or ready to destroy Konoha._

 _ **Brat, are you checking out Orochimaru when he's sleeping?**_ Kurama asked, amused at his host. The other tailed beasts were similarly amused.

 _What? N-no! I was just checking up on him!_ Naruto responded, blushing.

Orochimaru woke up to see Naruto looking at him and blushing. The sannin chuckled, "Like what you see, Naruto-kun?"

Orochimaru's question brought Naruto out of his mind space and his blush deepened, "N-no! I mean y-yes? Ugh! Go back to sleep!"

Naruto didn't hear Tobirama snickering at his situation nearby, but he did hear Orochimaru's chuckle.

"That was mean of me. How are you doing? It's not every day that you get kidnapped and tortured."

Naruto was startled by the apology and his blush died down, "Yeah, I'm fine! That happened nearly all the time when I was younger, dattebayo! You get used to it after a while."

Orochimaru's eyes softened while Hashirama's and Tobirama's eyes hardened. Both of the former Hokages swore to protect the blonde better from now on.

"Well, Orochimaru- _kun~_ have you made your decision yet?" Naruto teased, trying to lighten up the mood, if only a little bit. 

Orochimaru was startled by the informal nickname but he nodded regardless, "Yes I have, Naruto- _chan~_ , though I want to wait until we make it to Tsunade-chan before I say it out loud."

Naruto nodded, blushing at the nickname, "Since Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama were still asleep last time I checked, I'm going to train for a bit. Should help to get rid of some of my nervous energy, hopefully."

Orochimaru nodded and Naruto left his room to go train. Orochimaru got up off the bed and went into the kitchen, Hashirama and Tobirama trailing him. Orochimaru began to cook breakfast.

"I could feel you listening in while we were speaking. Are you thinking of staying as his bodyguards?"

Hashirama nodded, "I'm concerned about the boy. He's still so young and he's lived all his life being kidnapped and tortured. He's most likely going to have trouble relaxing or understanding kindness, which explains last night."

Tobirama nodded as well, "I agree with Aniki."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "He's probably not going to understand why you want to stay with him. Hell, he was dazed by the realization that I _trust_ him to watch over me and to protect me."

Naruto suddenly dashed into the kitchen, covered in... slime.

"I hate giant snakes," he mumbled, looking Orochimaru straight in the eyes.

Orochimaru snickered, "Gomen, Naruto-kun, but that one wasn't mine. That one was from this forest. Go take a shower and then you can have breakfast."

Naruto shivered in disgust, "Hai, Orochimaru-san."

Tobirama raised an eyebrow in the direction of Naruto's retreating back, "Why does he hate giant snakes so much? And why are you apologizing?"

Orochimaru flinched, "During the Chunin Exams around three or four years ago, I joined in as well, trying to get to Sasuke Uchiha. During the second test, I separated Naruto from his team and one of my giant snake summons swallowed him. He managed to escape and help Sasuke and Sakura out while I was "fighting" them. Later on, Naruto was almost killed by another of my giant snake summons when I was fighting against Jiraiya and Tsunade."

Tobirama looked Orochimaru dead in the eyes, "That was idiotic of you."

Orochimaru nodded, "That's why I apologized to Naruto-kun. He would have heard the sincerity and understand that I am truly apologetic for everything that I put him and Sasuke through."

Naruto came back clean right as Orochimaru was dishing out the meal for everyone. Breakfast was a silent affair, which was awkward for the other three men who know of Naruto's bubbly and outgoing personality.

An hour after breakfast, they were in Tsunade's office once more. Orochimaru spoke first, "I have made my decision, Tsunade-chan." Tsunade's eye twitched at the informal nickname from her former teammate.

"What is it, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru glanced at Naruto before speaking again, "I would like to get the mental evaluation, but I would also like to train to be a medical-nin, if possible."

Tsunade nodded slowly, "Sakura, please escort Orochimaru to T&I to get his evaluation done. Please tell Ibiki that it is _only_ a mental evaluation and I don't want him harmed."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura bowed, then waited as Orochimaru walked up to her. Sakura smiled at him softly, "Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama, I don't hold a grudge against you."

Orochimaru sighed in relief and let himself be escorted by the pink-haired girl once more.

Once Orochimaru was out of the office, Hashirama and Tobirama shared a look and nodded. Hashirama stepped forwards and bowed, startling everyone in the room.

"Tsunade-sama, my otouto and I have decided that as long as the villagers hold contempt for Naruto and view him as harmless, then they are going to harm him. We wish to remain as Naruto's bodyguard until Naruto is promoted to at least Jonin level. We believe that when he gets to that level, then most of the villagers will see him as a threat and will not try to harm him. The Shinobi, on the other hand, may still try to harm him."

Naruto was startled at his assessment, though Tsunade was nodding her head in approval.

"Gaki, I'll start you on an advanced study course and whenever you're ready, you can take the Jonin test. You may have to take it with the generation younger than you. Iruka and Kakashi can help you train if you want to."

Naruto's eye twitched at the mention of paperwork and he absentmindedly played with his necklace, which caught Hashirama's eyes. Hashirama smiled, "Where did you get that, Naruto-kun?"

"Hm? Oh! This necklace? I got it during a gamble with baachan! She said that if I could complete the Ransengan within a week, then she'd give me the necklace. I won the wager during the fight with Kabuto-teme and O-Orochimaru-san. Jiraiya and O-Orochimaru had stopped fighting to watch me and Kabuto. I nearly died after using the technique because Kabuto-teme tried to kill me by cutting my heart muscles. Tsunade healed me and I claimed the necklace." Nobody noticed his slight stutter when he said Orochimaru's name.

Tsunade shivered, "He exceeded my expectations that day. I expected him to die, but he lived. He's how I got over my hemophobia. He protected me and called me out while he fought with Kabuto and I protected him against Orochimaru when he tried to kill him after he blacked out after claiming the necklace."

Tobirama narrowed his eyes at Tsunade, who shifted in her seat, "Why would you make a bet with a young boy and hang the necklace on the line?"

Tsunade slumped, defeated, "When Jiraiya and Naruto found me, I was drunk. I was also shaken up over Orochimaru talking to me and Kabuto cutting his own palm. I was paralyzed because of the blood and wanted to get drunk. I... talked down on the Hokage title and Naruto got riled up, saying that he would become the next Hokage and prove me wrong. We went outside to fight and he performed an incomplete Rasengan. I made the wager not expecting him to complete it within the week's time. I gave him the necklace and told him that he better become the next Hokage. He convinced me to take up the hat."

Naruto beamed in pride and Tobirama chuckled. Naruto seemed to soak up compliments and disregard insults, unless insults were the only thing being said, then he hyper-focused on the insults.

Naruto bounced on his feet, "Where am I taking the advanced course, baachan?"

Tsunade threw an empty sake bottle at the teen, who dodged it expertly, "Gaki, where else? The academy. It's not just for pre-genins."

Naruto bounced some more, "Is Iruka going to be teaching me, or is it going to be a self-study?"

Tsunade shook her head, "It's a self-study. Iruka will give you the books and packages necessary and you will complete them in the given time. He'll give you a time-table that will outline what book to read, what package to complete, and the homework that goes with it. Iruka and Kakashi will be available, like I said earlier, so you can put what you learned into practice. I'm sure Hashirama-ojii and Tobirama-oji will help you out as well if you want extra help. Hold on as I write the mission report down so Iruka can get everything ready."

Naruto bounced even more, "I'll work really hard, dattebayo!"

Tsunade chuckled at Naruto's verbal tic, "I believe you, Naruto. The last few times that I didn't, you showed me why I should. Even though you are technically still a genin, you brought the whole Shinobi Force together with your shadow clones and determination, you convinced Obito to work _with_ us instead of against us, you convinced Madara to give his life to _protect_ the Shinobi instead of killing them, you convinced Sasuke that Itachi wouldn't want him to destroy Konoha, and, from what Orochimaru has told me, you convinced Orochimaru that immortality isn't as great as it sounds. I get that the Shinobi are pissed, a genin won the war when they couldn't, but the villagers should be happy that the person who has the most right to destroy Konoha is protecting it with all his might."

Hashirama and Tobirama watched sadly while Naruto's eyes widened at Tsunade's speech. He hadn't _realized_ that he was the reason the war was won. He had thought that _everyone_ had a part in it and that Madara had given up his life because his childhood friend and rival had come back to life.

Orochimaru and Sakura had come back during Tsunade's speech and they watched as unreadable emotions flickered across the usually expressive blonde's face.

Sakura cleared her throat to get Tsunade's attention, "Well?" The female blonde asked.

"He is... mostly cleared to begin work as a shinobi or medical-nin. Inochi wants him to start behavioral therapy and come back at least once a month, at most once a week, depending on what you agree to," Sakura summarized.

"Behavioural therapy? Why?"

"He doesn't say. He told Orochimaru why, but Orochimaru refuses to say and Inochi respects his patient's confidentiality and wants you to do so as well."

Tsunade nodded, "Very well. Orochimaru, you will begin medical training at the academy. Wait here and I'll write another mission report for Iruka. You and Naruto can go to the academy together. As for the behavioral therapy, I trust you to schedule that on your own time, I'm assuming Inochi-san gave you his card?" Orochimaru nodded. "Well, once you get your timetable, schedule your therapy accordingly."

Orochimaru nodded, "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade threw her hands in the air, "What is it with people with the same title as me calling me sama?" She yelled, Tobirama chuckling in the background.

Tsunade suddenly sobered up as she saw Naruto flinch at the yelling and she made a last-minute decision, "Naruto, I'm also going to schedule you an appointment with T&I, most likely with Inochi. _Don't argue with me_. I just want to make sure that your past isn't affecting you negatively. If Inochi suggests behavioral therapy for you as well, please have someone work that around your schedule, preferably Orochimaru or Inochi himself. I want you to be able to perform your duties with a stable and sound mind."

Naruto looked at Tsunade in shock, he had been meaning to run the idea by her ever since Jiraiya died but had been too scared to do so, afraid that she'd take that to mean that he wasn't able to become Hokage. He had been expecting her to laugh at him, _belittle_ him for being unstable, not accept his condition, and work with him to make him better. He _knew_ that she wouldn't do that, but every time that she was crass, he had doubted himself and her all the more.

Orochimaru also looked at Tsunade in shock while Hashirama and Tobirama **(A/N I'm tempted to just call them Orochi [or Ochi], Hashi, and Tobi for short *fumes about long-assed names forgetting that I made an OC named Michiaki*)** looked at Tsunade with something akin to appreciation in their eyes. Sakura and the other Shinobi in the room were able to keep their surprise to themselves.

It only took a moment for Tsunade to finish writing the mission reports for Iruka. She looked up to see the surprise still on Naruto's and Orochimaru's faces and she chuckled, "Here you go, gakis."

Naruto and Orochimaru twitched at the nickname while Kurama howled in laughter at Orochimaru being called a brat by Tsunade. Naruto, Orochimaru, Hashirama, and Tobirama all left the office and went straight to the Academy, Naruto and Orochimaru still stunned by what Tsunade had said.

Naruto and Orochimaru gave Iruka their scrolls and the brown-haired male huffed. They had to wait as Iruka wrote out a comprehensive time-table for the both of them, so they decided to go back in a few hours to get their time-tables and the small group entered the library that was nearby.

It took five minutes for Orochimaru to realize that Naruto couldn't read or write.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, can you read?" Naruto started to panic as Hashirama and Tobirama started to release their killer intent. Orochimaru glared at the two older men, "Hey, you two aren't helping. If anything, you are going to get us kicked out! Calm down before I ask you to wait outside!"

Hashirama and Tobirama immediately calmed down, not wanting the blonde to get in trouble because they couldn't control themselves. Orochimaru nodded in appreciation and turned to the now baffled blonde.

Orochimaru smiled sadly, "I can help you out if you want, outside your other studying and possible therapy sessions."

Naruto gulped and looked at his lap, "You'd do that?"

Orochimaru nodded, "Yes, I would. What I want to know, though, is _why_ you can't read."

Naruto sighed, "When I was in the academy, one of the chunin teachers, Mitsuki, wanted to ruin my chances for a Shinobi career so he always marked down my grades and gave me tests that were above my skill level. At this time I was living on my own and I had no one to teach me since Jiji was always busy and the Anbus could care less about what I knew and what I didn't know. Don't worry, Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama, I already put the guy in T&I. The story is quite funny...now that I think about it."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "How did a twelve-year-old manage to send a chunin to T&I?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Well, it started with me failing the genin test for the third time because I couldn't create a regular clone and I already had terrible scores from the rest of my tests. As everyone was leaving, Mitsuki came up to me and told me that there was an "extra credit test" and that if I succeeded, I would become a genin. I was desperate, so I agreed. My task was to learn at least one Jutsu from the Forbidden Scroll. That's how I learned the Kage no Bushin at age twelve. Iruka-sensei found me right before Mitsuki did and I realized that I had been played for a fool. Iruka and Mitsuki had a small battle and it looked like Iruka was going to lose since he had already taken a giant shuriken to the back. I protected him by creating at least a hundred shadow clones. Mitsuki was a bloody pulp by the time the Anbu arrived and Iruka-sensei gave me his hitai-ate. That's the story of how I became a genin, dattebayo!"

Naruto grinned when he saw the dubious looks of his companions, "If you don't believe me, ask Iruka-sensei. Whoops! I forgot I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that!" Naruto exclaimed, putting his hands over his mouth and his eyes wide with fear.

Tobirama and Orochimaru began to laugh at Naruto's forgetfulness, "I'm sure it's fine now, Naruto-kun."

\----

Naruto, Orochimaru, Tobirama, and Hashirama all stood in Naruto's apartment warily, expecting someone to come and try to kidnap or kill Naruto again.

"Do you need someone to sleep in the same room as you, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes," Naruto replied sassily, thinking that Orochimaru was joking around, only to blush when Orochimaru lied down on his bed.

Tobirama was amused by the situation and his amusement only skyrocketed when Naruto's blush faded and he grunted, flopping on the bed beside the snake sannin.

Naruto glared at Orochimaru, "Keep your hands to yourself, and don't you dare give me the hickey of death."

Orochimaru erupted into peals of baritone laughter and Tobirama was further amused, if that was even possible, when Naruto's blush came back.

"Get out of my room!" Naruto yelled at the former Hokages, which only served to worsen Orochimaru's laughter and Tobirama's amusement. Hashirama decided to pity the boy and picked his younger brother up, causing Tobirama to yelp and Naruto to laugh.

\----

It was not long after midnight when Naruto woke up panting and trembling, unable to calm down. He couldn't remember the nightmare, most likely due to Kurama erasing the memory of it, which only served to worsen his hyperventilating.

Orochimaru woke up to his trembling and began to panic himself, not knowing what to do with the panicking boy.

Hashirama ended up calming Naruto down and Tobirama ended up calming Orochimaru down, much to Tobirama's never-ending amusement at this point.

It took an hour for Naruto and Orochimaru to calm down and for everyone to go back to deep sleep.

Two hours later, Naruto woke back up, thankfully not from a nightmare again. He tossed and turned before giving up on sleep and headed to the roof.

\----

Four hours later, Orochimaru woke up to an empty bed. He got up silently and walked into the living room and kitchen area, trying to find the brilliant blonde. He decided to check the roof before waking up the two brothers.

He saw Naruto leaning back against the roof, the sun's early-morning rays lighting him up in a soft glow. Orochimaru smiled kindly, "Couldn't sleep?"

Naruto shook his head, "Tell me a story, please."

"Well, Jiraiya used to get tied up all the time when Hiruzen pulled the bell test on us. He was jealous of me because Hiruzen tended to compare us."

"Sounds like me and Sasuke. Please tell me you tried feeding him, only for Tsunade to," Naruto begged, his eyes sparkling.

Orochimaru laughed softly, "Unfortunately, we never got to do that."

Naruto pouted, "Man! The first time we did the bell test, I was tied up. Kakashi-sensei had told us to not have breakfast and was nearing lunchtime when the test was over. I wasn't allowed to eat because I had tried to sneak-eat while Kakashi was distracted. Sasuke-teme heard my stomach rumbling and offered me some of his food, only for Sakura to feed me a few seconds later because Sasuke had already finished his meal. That's how we passed the last part of the genin test." Naruto laughed softly, shaking his head. "I'll never forget Sakura-chan's screams when she saw Sasuke buried to his head in the ground. She had just broken the genjutsu that had Sasuke dying in front of her and she thought that he had been beheaded and fainted when he started talking to her."

Orochimaru winced, "That must have been tough."

"The fangirl fainting? Nah, she was quieter that way."

Orochimaru chuckled and they fell into a comfortable silence.

It wasn't long before Tobirama brought them their breakfast. They ate it in silence and when they finished, Naruto put his dish in the sink and went out to train.

As soon as Naruto was out of sight, Orochimaru became deadly serious, "Hashirama-sama will you tell me how to help Naruto if he has another panic attack? You two won't always be here and I want to help the boy out if that happens again."

Hashirama nodded, "Well the first step is to remain calm yourself. If you panic, Naruto will panic as well. The key is to create a calming atmosphere before even beginning to calm him down. A way to keep calm is to take deep, grounding breaths."

Orochimaru nodded, "That makes sense."

"The next step is to be understanding. If you look at him or speak to him like you are disgusted, then he could learn to hate himself and that's the last thing we want to teach him. Telling him things like 'it's ok' and 'you're safe' tells him that it's ok to be terrified."

Orochimaru nodded slowly, "Again, that makes sense."

Hashirama thought for a while before speaking again, "Sometimes physical contact like hugging or cuddling help, as it tells him that you're aren't _afraid_ of him or afraid to get up and personal. That could boost his self-confidence. Always ask before-hand unless it's obvious that he can't answer. Naruto seems to enjoy positive physical contact, so hugging him or rubbing his arms or both would be good options. You could use this if he's crying, as it's such a good comforting tip. In fact, you could use all of these tips to help comfort him if he's crying."

Orochimaru stood and bowed to Hashirama, "Arigato Hashirama-sama. I'll keep what you have said in mind."


	3. Whenever You're Ready, Can We Surrender?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter! Please read before continuing!
> 
> 1) This chapter is when things get darker for Naruto. Includes verbal abuse and possible sexual abuse -I don't know if it would be counted as rape or not. The first smut scene contains dubiously consented sexual actions -Naruto clearly doesn't view Sasuke in that way anymore (he used to have a childhood crush but it got buried when Sasuke left and he had to go find him only to resurface when Sasuke forces himself on Naruto -sorry spoilers).
> 
> 2) The second smut scene (yes within the same day -Naruto comes close to being overstimulated) contains talks of masturbation, masturbation and handjobs, and slightly overstimulated sex (akin to body worship). He thoroughly consents to everything in the second sex scene and isn't forced, he could've walked away or kicked the horny man out of his room. Orochimaru made sure that Naruto wanted to do something before he did it and he put Naruto's comfort first.
> 
> 3) I will include the same warnings above the actual scenes (except for the verbal abuse, that happens right away), so if you are uncomfortable with either of them, you can skip it. I include "You have been warned" so if you read it and you get triggered, please don't report this story because that's on you, not me.
> 
> 4) Be warned! Naruto doesn't understand that what Sasuke did (sorry for the spoilers) could be considered rape and therefore doesn't make a huge deal out of it. He's actually not going to understand anything until much later on in the book.
> 
> 5) Slight mentions of suicidal ideation in between the two smut scenes. I'm not going to add a warning since it's so brief and it would break the story flow that much worse.
> 
> Feel free to kill Sasuke in the comments section, although I am bringing him back to life.
> 
> Please, please, please don't report this story. If you don't like those types of things, please stop reading. If you get triggered, please stop reading.
> 
> I'm not that great at sex scenes yet, so please bear with me as I flounder around.
> 
> Also, so sorry for the length of this chapter, It's over 21 and a half pages on google docs, not accounting for the Author Notes. I was actually laughing my head off when I saw how long it was.
> 
> I DO NOT WANT PEOPLE TO CALL NARUTO A SLUT THANK YOU FOR COMING FOR MY TED TALK 
> 
> The title for this chapter is a line from Surrender by Natalie Taylor (Whenever you're ready, whenever you're ready. Can we? Can We? Surrender? - I feel like this line reflects this chapter so well, especially at the end of the second sex scene... you'll find out why, lol. And yes, this song is now my go-to for chapter planning and rough drafting of this story, so be prepared for some angsty shit)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this morbidly-fun-to-write chapter ^-^

**_\----_ **

One month after the war, Sasuke came back to Konoha during his "redemption walk period." Naruto didn't really understand _why_ Sasuke felt the need to do such a thing, he could redeem himself just fine from inside Konoha. Naruto wanted to catch up with Sasuke and they bantered back and forth for a few hours. It went great until Sasuke found out that Hashirama and Tobirama were his bodyguards.

"You're really a man-whore if you got _two_ Hokages following you around." **(A/N and let the killing begin...)**

"You know I'm not like that," Naruto defended, aghast that Sasuke could say something so cruel, although he really wasn't surprised. It _was_ Sasuke after all. 

"Really? Then why are two Hokages following you around?"

"The villagers... want me dead and they believe that it's unsafe for me to go around without a bodyguard."

"I'm sure you sucked their dicks off to agree to do that," Sasuke insisted, not believing Naruto at all.

"Sasuke! I'm not like that!"

"Oh really? Then how did they agree to do that?"

"I got kidnapped and they feared for mental and physical well being! They didn't tell me beforehand!"

Sasuke and Naruto continued to bicker about the bodyguard issue, the argument heating up until Naruto finally had enough and turned to leave the Uchiha compound. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and shoved the blonde into a nearby wall.

"I didn't say that you can leave yet, now did I?" Sasuke hissed in Naruto's ear.

"I don't need your permission to leave your house!" Naruto yelled, struggling in Sasuke's grip.

**Warning: Dubiously consented sex. Possibly could be considered rape. If that makes you uncomfortable, please skip down to the FIRST END SMUT, as there will be two smut scenes, the second one taking up the most of this chapter. You have been warned.**

Sasuke suddenly kissed Naruto, to shut the blonde up. Naruto squirmed, trying to get Sasuke to stop kissing him and Sasuke kissed him harder. Just as Naruto thought he'd suffocate from being kissed (something he never thought possible), Sasuke pulled back. Naruto gasped as he tried to get the much-needed air inside of his lungs.

Almost seconds later, Sasuke slammed his lips on Naruto's once more. Naruto squirmed around, trying to break his friends' hold on his wrists, but the Uchiha was too strong. The next few kisses continued in this manner and Naruto was quickly becoming light-headed. Sasuke decided to have small mercy on the blonde and tuned to kissing his neck, letting Naruto finally breathe, much to Naruto's relief.

Naruto yelped when he felt Sasuke's teeth cut through his skin, hard enough to leave a mark for a few hours, despite his accelerated healing.

"Sasuke! Stop!" Naruto yelped, trying and failing to get his neck out of Sasuke's grasp.

Sasuke growled in response and forced a knee in between Naruto's legs, purposely rubbing against Naruto's member, still biting down on the blonde's neck.

Naruto froze when he felt the raven rub against his member. He was a bit scared of what was happening, but he knew that Sasuke wouldn't stop. Naruto briefly wondered if Sasuke liked him back, but quickly doubted it because Sasuke always insulted him every chance he got. Unless that was just his way of showing his affection? Naruto shook his head clear of his thoughts and continued to struggle against the raven, knowing that it was futile unless he used chakra intending to hurt Sasuke to make the boy stop.

Sasuke's next words made him pause, though.

"Are you a virgin? If so, I'll make sure to be gentle with you." Sasuke's voice was soft and gentle and Naruto forgot about wanting to get away from his friend for a moment. He was reminded of _why_ he had fallen for the stoic raven in the first place. He had seen Sasuke's gentle and loving nature underneath the stoic and uncaring persona that he had put up for everyone to see. 

All Naruto could do was nod, not trusting his voice. He whimpered as Sasuke pushed his body closer to him. Sasuke obviously knew what he was doing and he knew what to say and what to do to get the stubborn blonde to submit.

And if he convinced the oblivious blonde that he _liked_ Naruto, then that was just fine, he could always say that he was just sexually frustrated, which he was. He never cared for the loud-mouthed blonde and just wanted to see the blonde submit and _be quiet for once_ , although Sasuke didn't think Naruto _could_ be quiet in this type of situation. **(A/N Boy you better watch your junk, Naruto's fan-club is gonna getcha~)**

Naruto whimpered when Sasuke pulled away, "Upstairs, now."

Naruto shook his head, "I-I need to get back home, O-Orochimaru is waiting."

Sasuke clicked his teeth and grabbed the blonde's arm again, pulling the struggling boy behind him, "I wasn't _asking_ you, I was _telling_ you," he growled.

When they got to his room, he pushed Naruto onto the bed, immediately pinning him down to keep the blonde from running away.

"S-Sasuke! Stop! I-I'll come back on a different day a-and we can continue then," Naruto yelled, his struggling increasing.

Sasuke put more pressure on Naruto and purposely let his hard-on brush against Naruto's. Naruto stopped struggling as he felt heat travel up from his crotch and he moaned softly, Sasuke smirking before leaning down to whisper in Naruto's ear, "But I want to continue _now_."

The raven ground his clothed erection against Naruto's again and finally got the answer he wanted to hear.

"F-fine! J-just be gentle, please."

Sasuke's smirk grew, "I wouldn't dream otherwise."

Naruto brought his hands up to Sasuke's neck and hesitantly brought him down for a kiss. Despite Sasuke's promise to be gentle, Naruto still felt uneasy giving up his virginity. The blonde just chalked it up about being nervous having sex, but something, *cough*Kuramathefluffyfox*cough*, told him that wasn't it.

Naruto ignored Kurama yelling at him to use his chakra and forced himself to relax underneath Sasuke.

Sasuke could see the uneasiness on Naruto's face and kissed him again, hoping that it would help relax the blonde. Sasuke licked Naruto's lip and Naruto hesitantly opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, immediately disliking it. He forced himself to moan into the kiss, feeling disgust build in him. It felt like he was kissing his _brother_ , which was wrong on so many levels.

Sasuke gently pulled their shirts over their heads, breaking the kiss briefly. Naruto panted and looked over to the pale male, briefly seeing someone slightly taller with longer hair.

Naruto blushed and quickly checked to make sure Sasuke didn't set up a Genjutsu. The image disappeared before he could dispel it, though, and Naruto stared at Sasuke, confused on why he would see Orochimaru in this situation.

Sasuke took Naruto staring at him as nervousness and gently smiled at the blonde, who blushed. Naruto hadn't seen that soft, loving smile for _years_ and Sasuke was showing him it while getting ready to have sex with each other. Naruto suddenly felt heat pool in his crotch and started to take his pants off. Sasuke watched him, amused that his _smile_ could turn on the blonde to the point he was _sweating_.

Sasuke chuckled and followed suit, climbing back over the blonde and deeply kissing him once more, much to Naruto's displeasure. For some reason, kissing Sasuke felt _wrong_ and he didn't know _why_. He wanted Sasuke to have a good time, but at the same time, he asked himself if letting Sasuke do what he wants is really a good idea. 

Naruto moaned when Sasuke pulled down his boxers and bucked his hips, wanting some friction, _any_ friction. Sasuke chuckled against his ear and ground down again, causing the blonde to gasp.

Sasuke forwent using any lube to prepare the blonde, instead pushing in two fingers dry, causing Naruto to yelp in pain. He could feel Kurama trying to make it easier for him and he mentally thanked the fox, who yelled at him about having unprotected sex with assholes. 

The preparation ended too soon for Naruto. He didn't feel ready when Sasuke suddenly forced himself inside of Naruto, immediately setting a bruising pace.

Naruto sobbed from the pain and Sasuke, feeling slightly guilty, began to rub Naruto's member. Between Kurama helping to relax his muscles and the pleasure coming from being jerked-off, Naruto slowly began to enjoy himself.

It took longer than he'd like to admit for him to release (two hours, it took two _fucking_ hours for Naruto to eventually enjoy it long enough to release), Sasuke immediately following suit for the third time that afternoon.

**END SMUT**

Sasuke pulled out and left the room, taking a shower to clean himself off. He re-entered his room and got dressed. Sasuke looked at the naked blonde, who was panting in his bed. He clicked his teeth, "Dobe, go take a shower and get dressed."

Naruto whimpered softly, not wanting to move. His ass was sore from the sex.

 ** _Kit, I'll take care of that for you, just get out of here_**.

_Ok, Kurama. Thanks._

**_Don't mention it. Ever_**.

Naruto mentally nodded and felt as Kurama healed him and he got up slowly his muscles sore. His muscles complained as he gathered his clothes and limped to the bathroom. Sasuke smirked at his handiwork and tore the sheets off of his bed.

He had fun, he might try that again some time.

In less than an hour, Naruto was out the door, no longer limping, much to Sasuke's displeasure. Naruto kept himself from crying on his way home and groaned when he saw Orochimaru pacing in the living room. If Naruto didn't feel like he wanted to kill himself (he didn't understand _why_ he felt like that and he briefly wondered if he should talk to Inochi about it the next time he saw him, but quickly dismissed the idea. He was working on his _past,_ not his _present_ , he could wait a bit longer to tell his amazing therapist about his new urges), he would've laughed at the legendary Sannin being such a _worry-wart_.

"Where were you? Do you have any idea as to how worried I was?" Orochimaru snapped as Naruto, who was already in a foul mood, entered the room.

"I know..." Naruto muttered, not wanting to say anything to his new-found friend.

"Then what happened? I almost thought that you... you had a one-night stand, didn't you?" Orochimaru asked, spotting the poorly-hid hickey. At least Naruto only had _one_ and not several.

"I didn't mean to! He kept insulting me and it got heated," Naruto defended, covering the hickey up with his hand, mortified that the mark was so noticeable. He didn't like it and Kurama was working on overdrive to heal it up to make it more... normal. Apparently, people don't go biting over people hard like that, it wasn't a normal thing that happened in sex unless it's kinky sex and Naruto was pretty sure he and Sasuke had normal sex, whatever that meant.

Orochimaru smiled kindly, "I know how that can happen... are you going to pursue a relationship with him?"

"With the guy who insults me with every chance he gets? Never!" Naruto vehemently said, shaking his head. "I never want to have sex with him again!"

Orochimaru nodded, "Why don't you take a shower? You'll feel better."

"... Sure," Naruto agreed although it was obvious that he had already taken one earlier.

**Warning: Talks of masturbation, masturbation/handjobs, and slightly overstimulation sex. All purely Consented. No one forced Naruto to take part in this one and it's akin to body worship. I will only put up END SMUT when the last smut scene ends, not before. If you don't like those types of things, skip to END SMUT #2, which is down near the bottom of the chapter. You have been warned.**

Naruto returned from the shower with only a towel around his waist, cursing himself for his forgetfulness, only to see Orochimaru naked on his bed, mindlessly stroking his member. Orochimaru blushed when he felt eyes on him and covered himself, embarrassed to be caught in such a situation.

"...Is there a reason why you're naked in my bed?"

"...It's hot," Orochimaru lied, sweating from the pressure.

"It's in the middle of winter, try again," Naruto countered, not having any of Orochimaru's idiotic antics. Naruto leaned against the doorpost of the bathroom and raised a silent eyebrow as Orochimaru gulped, refusing to look at the blonde.

"...I was masturbating and it got hot."

"In my bed?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You were in the shower."

"Fair enough."

"Do you want to join me?" Orochimaru asked, lifting the blanket again.

Naruto blinked, "In the bed or the masturbation?"

"Masturbation you idiot, you look like you've never done it."

"I've done it, dattebayo!"

"Really?" Orochimaru questioned with a knowing smirk.

"...I've heard of it," Naruto conceded, a small blush adorning his tanned skin.

"Come here, I'll show you."

Naruto hesitated before slowly sitting on the bed and Orochimaru pulled the blonde into his lap. Naruto could feel Orochimaru's hard-on and he immediately covered his private area in embarrassment. "Relax," Orochimaru instructed and Naruto hesitantly relaxed. He... _trusted_ Orochimaru, although he had only known the older man for a month. It felt like he has known Orochimaru for _years_ and he knew that Orochimaru _definitely_ wouldn't do something to hurt and scare him away on purpose.

Besides, he was curious to see what Orochimaru was going to do.

Orochimaru slowly took off the towel around Naruto's waist and softly stroked the inside of Naruto's inner thigh, making Naruto jerk. Orochimaru chuckled against the blonde's ear, causing Naruto to whimper.

"Give me your hand," Orochimaru ordered, Naruto gladly obeying. Orochimaru chuckled at Naruto's eagerness and Naruto blushed. He turned his head to the side, his cheek resting against the pale man's shoulder and Orochimaru paused, "Do you want me to stop?" He whispered. He didn't want to hurt the blonde even more than he already was -Orochimaru could see the self-hate in his eyes when he admitted to having sex with his best friend.

"N-no," Naruto whispered. "I'm just embarrassed that I'm so eager."

Orochimaru ran a hand through Naruto's golden locks, "It's okay to be embarrassed. It's also okay to be eager. I'd rather you _want_ this than you _hate_ this."

Naruto nodded and looked back to his lap, gulping. The pale-skinned man slowly placed Naruto's hand on his flaccid member, one of his own hands on top of the blonde's to guide it. He didn't want to scare the boy by touching him, besides this was a masturbation lesson, not a handjob.

"Masturbation is when someone touches themselves like this. It helps relieve sexual tension without having to have sex with someone, although it sometimes isn't enough to satisfy."

"That makes so much sense," Naruto snapped at Orochimaru, who squeezed his hand in return. Naruto jerked at the pressure and Orochimaru chuckled.

"I would be careful, Naruto- _chan~_ I have something precious of yours in my hand," Orochimaru warned, playfulness in this voice.

Naruto nodded, his blush deepening slightly at the nickname, and Orochimaru continued to teach Naruto, "Usually, one masturbates when they are turned on, though you can turn yourself on if you want to masturbate for the hell of it. Does that make sense?"

Naruto nodded, wanting Orochimaru to continue talking. He liked the older man's baritone voice as it was quiet and relaxing. It never demanded and if it did, it did so quietly and patiently. He felt _safe_ (though safe from _what_ he did not know nor plan to find out) when listening to Orochimaru speak and would sometimes ask for a story just to hear his voice.

"There are several ways someone can turn themselves on. A common way is to read porn."

"Of course," Naruto deadpanned, thinking of Jiraiya's porn-novels.

Orochimaru chuckled, "That is just a common way. Another way is just to imagine someone you want to have sex with and play with your body. I... tend to prefer the second option."

"Play with my body?" Naruto asked, confused.

Orochimaru smiled, "Yes. You can play with your member by rubbing it, play with your nipples by rubbing and pinching the nubs, and you can even use a dildo."

"What's a... dildo?"

"A sex toy meant to replace a dick," Orochimaru said nonchalantly, rubbing his free hand down Naruto's chest

"Ah~" Naruto sighed. He blinked, he didn't know he was sensitive there. He blushed and began to get embarrassed again and tried to close his legs again.

"Don't be embarrassed, _Naruto~chan_. I won't judge you. It's perfectly normal for your chest to be sensitive. If you want to stop, just say so," Orochimaru whispered encouragingly in Naruto's ear, stopping his ministrations, even going so far as to take his hands off of Naruto's body. 

Naruto whined at the loss of Orochimaru's gentle hands, hands that he was slowly starting to adore, "N-no, don't stop."

Orochimaru smiled and began to play with Naruto's nipples, tugging and pinching them every so often, making sure to play with both of them equally. Naruto jerked again, almost bucking his hips against his and Orochimaru's hand. Naruto's other hand tangled itself in his sheets.

"Do you like that, Naruto-chan~?" Orochimaru asked, already knowing the answer. For some reason, he wanted Naruto to _say_ that he liked it, to _beg_ for him not to stop. Orochimaru quickly shut that thought down, this wasn't about _his_ needs or wants, it was about _teaching Naruto_ how to pleasure himself. 

"Y-yes~" Naruto moaned, his eyes fluttering shut.

Orochimaru smiled, "I'm going to start moving our hands now. Please try and pay attention," he teased. He knew that Naruto wasn't going to be able to pay attention due to the pleasure and he knew that Naruto knew that, which was evident by Naruto's response.

Naruto whimpered, "N-no fair!"

Orochimaru just chuckled and started to move their hands, earning a moan as Naruto squirmed in his lap.

"I wouldn't do that, Naruto-chan~" Orochimaru warned. He had great self-control, but even he couldn't resist if a beautiful, moaning boy begged to be taken by squirming in his lap. He blushed softly at that thought and squeezed Naruto's member harder.

Naruto gasped when he felt Orochimaru's hard on beneath him and blushed even deeper, his member finally hardening. Orochimaru gave a hard pinch to one of Naruto's nipples and the blonde arched his back, leaning into the male behind him. He really _was_ trying to stay still, to pay attention to what Orochimaru was doing, but it was _so damn hard_ because the man was so _talented_ with his gentle yet firm hands, his delicately sinful hands.

Orochimaru moved his hand away from Naruto's, earning a confused whimper from the blonde. "Continue stroking yourself, Naruto-chan. I'm going to teach you what you could do with your hand besides grip the sheets," Orochimaru instructed. He couldn't resist the urge to fondle the teen anymore.

Naruto nodded and gasped as Orochimaru began fondling his balls. He whimpered as he felt something tighten inside his stomach.

Orochimaru stroked Naruto's chest absentmindedly, "Do you feel how you just tightened up?"

Naruto nodded, not able to form coherent words.

"That means that you are 'close,' which means that you are about to cum."

Naruto's hand unconsciously sped up, making Orochimaru chuckle again and squeeze his balls. After a few more moments, Naruto began squirming again, wanting to release but embarrassed to do it in front of Orochimaru, the man who was being so kind to him, so gentle.

"Don't be embarrassed, it's perfectly normal. I already said that I won't judge you."

Naruto nodded in relief and released painting his and Orochimaru's hand, panting as he came down from his high, "Teach me how to do that again?"

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were asking me for something sexual," Orochimaru whispered in Naruto's ear, causing the blonde to shiver. It didn't help that Orochimaru's hard-on was still rubbing against him. Or that Naruto was pretty sure that Orochimaru was licking his cum off his hand, _right next to his ear_. He wanted to either moan or curse the man for being so goddamn sexy.

"A-and if I w-was?" Naruto asked, suddenly shy. 

Orochimaru chuckled, "What exactly do you want to learn?"

"U-uh," Naruto blanked out.

Orochimaru chuckled again, amused by Naruto's lack of words, "I'll let you think about it." He softly stroked Naruto's member with one of his fingers, noticing that it was hard again. "Hm, I could help you with this again..." Orochimaru suggested, already forming an idea. He wondered if the blonde would be opposed to oral sex.

"I was h-hoping I could h-help you with yours first," Naruto whispered, blushing deeply.

"Are you sure?" Orochimaru asked, surprised that the blonde would offer to help him out. Naruto further surprised him when he suddenly turned around and kissed him briefly on his lips. Orochimaru sat frozen with wide eyes trained on Naruto. Naruto broke the kiss before he could kiss him back, though.

Naruto shot backward, realization hitting him hard that he had just kissed the man that he held in high esteem, _maybe even adored_ , hiding his face with his hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Then why did you?" Orochimaru asked, gently taking Naruto's hands into his own, pulling them away from Naruto's face. He kept a loose grip on the blonde's wrists so that if the blonde wanted to, he could move away easily. 

"Your lips just look so kissable..." Naruto trailed off, blushing even more.

Orochimaru smiled brightly, stunning Naruto. No one had ever told Orochimaru that and he found himself wanting Naruto to kiss him again, for the loveable sunshine to kiss away the sadness in his heart. "Then why don't you do it again?" Orochimaru asked, bringing Naruto's hands to his neck.

"You mean... you didn't mind?" Naruto questioned, surprised that Orochimaru had liked it. He had been surprised when he himself wanted to kiss the pale man again.

Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, placing a hand on Naruto's cheek, "On the contrary, I didn't want you to stop."

Naruto's eyes widened before he kissed Orochimaru again, this time passionately. He heard a noise outside and they both looked outside to see a snowstorm in full swing.

"Looks like we'll be trapped for a while. Tobirama and Hashirama are probably going to stay with Tsunade until the morning." Orochimaru mused.

"What do you want to do?" Naruto mused, standing up and closing the curtain. He blushed thinking what would've happened if someone had passed by.

"Do you want the innocent answer or the sexual answer?" Orochimaru teased, already knowing what the final answer would be.

"What's the innocent answer?" Naruto asked, moving to stand next to the bed.

"Cuddle," Orochimaru shrugged. If Naruto didn't want to do the second option, they could masturbate and then cuddle. Orochimaru was a bit of a cuddle-bug and Naruto knew it by the brief smirk on the teen's face. 

"A-and the sexual?" Naruto asked, stuttering slightly.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Sex. Not masturbation."

Naruto blushed and slowly backed up to the wall behind him. Orochimaru stood and walked up to Naruto, "Do you like that idea _Naru-chan~_ "

Naruto nodded, blushing at the nickname, "Why don't you just kiss me?"

Orochimaru smirked and stalked closer to the heavily blushing blonde, "Are you sure that you want me to? I can be a pretty rough kisser."

Naruto placed his hands around Orochimaru's neck and tugged him closer to himself, whispering, "I'm sure. Kiss me so hard I forget my name."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, "If I kiss you that hard, I'm probably going to fuck you that hard."

Naruto smirked, "I don't have a problem with that."

Orochimaru kissed Naruto passionately while tugging his hair, making him moan, his tongue easily slipping into the submissive blonde's mouth. The slightly taller male pressed his body against the blonde's, working his knee in between Naruto's legs. Naruto's hands found his hair and he tugged it, causing Orochimaru to grunt softly and he pressed his knee against Naruto's throbbing member.

Naruto broke the kiss to moan, Orochimaru attacking his neck like he had wanted to when he was teaching him how to masturbate. Naruto's moans were like music to Orochimaru's ears, music that he didn't want to ever stop. Naruto didn't know that a kiss could be so great, he was doing exactly what Sasuke did, but there wasn't a feeling of disgust, just pure undiluted pleasure that he never wanted to stop.

Orochimaru's hands traveled down Naruto's body and he grabbed the blonde's ass, causing the blonde to moan louder, much to the raven's delight.

Orochimaru pulled back from Naruto's neck, "Jump," he ordered and Naruto immediately obeyed.

Orochimaru caught Naruto and pushed himself closer to the teen, Naruto readily wrapping his legs around Orochimaru's waist. Orochimaru hugged the blonde close to his chest before turning around and walking to the nearby bed, carefully dumping the blonde on top of it.

Orochimaru paused, "Are you sure you want to do this with me?"

"You're the only one I trust to do this," Naruto admitted. He felt guilty for a moment as he remembered that he wasn't a virgin.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not a virgin either," Orochimaru whispered, recognizing the guilty look.

Naruto gave a deadpanned look towards his soon-to-be lover, "You're as old as baachan, that's sort of a given."

Orochimaru laughed at Naruto's mild insult, "I didn't lose my virginity until very recently, Narutokun. I was never really interested in anybody growing up. I understand your desire to give me your virginity but know that I don't think less of you because of it."

Naruto's eyes teared up and Orochimaru kissed them away. He heard Naruto gasp and looked to see what was wrong. Naruto held a scandalized expression on his face and Orochimaru could only guess what the tailed beasts were telling the poor blonde for him to respond in such an adorable way.

Naruto blushed and looked away, "Kurama o-offered to make me t-tight again so that we c-could pretend t-that you were the one t-taking my virginity."

Orochimaru blinked, then slowly and carefully said, "I'd rather him save his energy for something... more life-threatening. I won't stop you if you want to do that, though."

Naruto tilted his head, "I think the same way, so I'll tell him no thanks."

Orochimaru smiled and kissed Naruto softly, "Just tell me if you want to stop."

"Just fuck me already, Orochi."

Orochimaru blushed at the informal nickname and growled out against Naruto's ear, "If you call me that, then I'll make sure you _really_ have a good night."

"Is that so, _Orochi_?"

Orochimaru growled again, attacking Naruto's neck, most likely leaving the delicate skin bruised.

"It seems that I've given you a hickey, my dear _Naru_ ~" Orochimaru purred into Naruto's ear before moving to the other side of his neck.

Naruto bucked his hips, searching for any form of friction, Orochimaru's hands keeping his hips down. Orochimaru smirked before grinding against Naruto, giving Naruto what he wanted.

"Turn around, _Naru~"_ Orochimaru ordered.

Naruto blushed when Orochimaru didn't rise to let him turn, which meant that he would feel him turning with his body. Naruto looked to the side, a hand over his mouth.

Orochimaru smirked as the realization came over the blonde, "Is something wrong? I said to turn over."

Naruto's blush deepened and he quickly complied. Orochimaru kissed the back of Naruto's neck, then slowly down Naruto's spine, Naruto arching his back to make it easier for him.

Orochimaru made it to Naruto's ass and Naruto suddenly became embarrassed again.

"D-don't look there!"

Orochimaru chuckled as he kneaded the mounds of flesh, slowly separating them, "Why not, Naru~"

"I-it's dirty!"

Orochimaru chuckled again, "Then let's make it clean. I hear that someone left something in here for me~"

Naruto blushed even deeper when Orochimaru said that and lost his strength when he felt something wet touch his entrance. Orochimaru chuckled when he felt Naruto fall onto his arms when he licked Naruto's entrance. He pushed his tongue into the ring of flesh and began to eat out his young lover. He could taste the raven-hairs seed and scrunched up his nose. He preferred Naruto's, it was sweet like his personality. 

He ate Naruto out until he couldn't taste the other raven anymore. Naruto was a moaning mess by the time he was done and was currently sobbing from the pleasure. He hadn't known that he'd like a tongue down his ass so much. That tongue was _way_ too sinful to be legal.

Orochimaru loved hearing Naruto's moans, but he knew that he'd have to get some lube or else it was going to get painful for Naruto fast. He leaned away from Naruto, causing Naruto to whimper, "I'm so sorry, Naru, but I have to go grab some lube from my room."

Naruto turned to face Orochimaru and pulled him in for another kiss, "Why don't you carry me and we continue in your room, Orochi?"

Orochimaru grinned at Naruto's idea and picked the boy up bridal style, causing Naruto to yelp. Orochimaru chuckled as Naruto clung to his neck and they quickly found themselves in the sannin's room. The sannin rarely spent any time in his room, mostly sleeping with Naruto to help protect the blonde from the villager's wrath and to help comfort him after a particularly bad nightmare.

Orochimaru gently placed Naruto on the bed and the blonde immediately got on his hands and knees, causing Orochimaru to chuckle at Naruto's eagerness.

The long-haired raven quickly grabbed the bottle of lube in his nightstand and poured some on his fingers. He climbed back to the blonde, who was watching him over his shoulder with eager blue eyes.

Orochimaru kissed Naruto's neck to distract him as he pushed a finger into Naruto's entrance. Naruto whimpered at the intrusion and Orochimaru rubbed Naruto's hips while kissing his neck to help distract the blonde. Orochimaru slowly pumped his finger, quickly adding a second finger and began scissoring his fingers to stretch the tight muscle. Naruto began to push back against Orochimaru's fingers and the raven added a third finger soon after, all the while kissing Naruto's neck, leaving multiple hickeys. Orochimaru smiled at the thought that Naruto didn't mind him claiming him and soon deemed the blonde ready.

Orochimaru had known that there was a possibility that the blonde was still loose from earlier that afternoon. Either that or Kurama _really_ _didn't mind_ if Naruto had sex with Orochimaru. The raven could just imagine the old fox watching the free porn show eating popcorn and snickered silently at the picture.

Orochimaru pulled his fingers out and flipped Naruto onto his back, the blonde whimpering at the loss of the (in his opinion) wonderful fingers. Orochimaru chuckled, "Don't worry, Naru, I'm about to replace my fingers with something much better. I just wanted to see your face~"

Naruto blushed again, looking to the side.

Orochimaru gently turned Naruto's head back to him and kissed him again. Kami, he was addicted to Naruto's sweet taste. Naruto was just as addicted to Orochimaru's taste as well, he couldn't stop kissing him. Sometimes soft and sweet with some tongue and passion and other times rough and breathtaking with grinding hips and expert tongues dancing.

Naruto watched through half-lidded eyes as Orochimaru lubed himself up, gulping as he realized how big the older man was.

"Relax, Naru~ If you are uncomfortable with this, we can stop and just masturbate."

Naruto pulled the older man down and gave him a sweet kiss, "Thanks, but it's okay. I was just wondering if it'll fit, is all"

Orochimaru smiled and kissed Naruto again, lining himself up, "It'll fit. Tell me if it hurts and I'll stop. I don't want to hurt you."

Naruto nodded, overwhelmed that Orochimaru was so concerned about his comfort. Orochimaru slowly began to push himself into the blonde, grunting at his tightness.

Naruto held on to the raven desperately as the older man kissed him passionately, hoping that it would help relax him. The raven kissed his tears away, earning a soft giggle from the blonde from the sweet action.

Orochimaru stopped when he bottomed out, letting the blonde get adjusted, not wanting to hurt the blonde as he told him. After a few minutes, Naruto shifted his hips and Orochimaru began to trust gently but firmly into the blonde.

Naruto began to pant and move his hips in time of Orochimaru's thrusts. Orochimaru smiled at the blonde and adjusted his angle slightly, trying to find the special bundle of nerves that every male had.

Naruto arched his back and moaned louder, clawing Orochimaru's back when he felt overwhelming pleasure overtake him.

"Found it~" Orochimaru purred.

"F-found what?" Naruto managed to ask in between his moans. Orochimaru was impressed that he could form a coherent thought.

The raven thrust deep into Naruto and held still when he hit that special spot. Naruto sobbed when he felt the permanent pressure, "The spot I'm pressing against, my dear Naru, is called a prostate gland. Only men have it and when pressed against, with either fingers or something else, it causes pleasure. It can bring someone closer to cumming."

"O-oh," Naruto moaned out, writhing underneath the raven.

Orochimaru chuckled before suddenly starting to thrust once more, making sure to hit the blonde's prostate every time.

It wasn't long before Naruto came with a silent scream, Orochimaru following suit, deep inside the blonde.

"Told you I'd make sure you'd have a good night. How about another round?" Orochimaru purred in Naruto's ear, who whimpered but nodded his head, anticipating the painful pleasure. He could vaguely hear Kurama grumbling about horny men.

It didn't take long for the two to get aroused again and Orochimaru once again started the painfully slow thrusts that hit his prostate every time. Naruto began sobbing in ecstasy, not wanting the moment to ever end.

Orochimaru smiled down at _his_ moaning blonde. He knew that there was little chance that Naruto would ever choose him, so he used this moment to show the oblivious blonde how much he truly meant to him. So he took the time to make the blonde writhe, moan, sob, and scream in pleasure as he refused to fuck the boy roughly as he had first promised him, instead showering the boy with unconditional love and worship as his tongue danced on the blonde's skin. Orochimaru was pretty sure that Naruto nearly passed out several times that night. 

If it meant that he got to worship the body of the one who he fell in love with, he'd do it over and over again until Naruto believed it as much as he did. Until the blonde finally surrendered to the love Orochimaru was willing to shower him with.

**END SMUT #2**

Naruto was _supposed_ to be studying, but he couldn't take his mind off of Orochimaru and what they did the night before. He couldn't help but blush whenever he thought about the nickname he had given his friend. _Orochi? Really? Who would've thought that he liked that so much? Almost as much as me liking Naru._

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. He _really_ didn't need a boner right now. He believed that if anyone found out about what had happened, namely two nosy Hokages, then they would think that the older man was either manipulating him or just using him as a way to relieve his sexual frustration.

A month ago, he would've looked at someone like they had grown two heads if they asked if he had a crush on the older man, now... now he wasn't too sure. He told Orochimaru the truth, he did trust him to... to fuck him, to be blunt. 

He also knew that Orochimaru wouldn't do that with just anyone and he wished for them to do it again. Namely, multiple, _multiple_ times until they got sick with each other. Naruto briefly wondered if they _could_ get sick of each other. They had spent a month in near-constant contact with the older raven and if anything, that had been what had led him to let Orochimaru fuck his brains out. Until he passed out from the overstimulation, he being Naruto.

Did he like the man? Or was this simply lust? Orochimaru had asked Naruto out on a date that morning, but Naruto had fled instead of answering. He wasn't used to someone _asking_ him out on a date. Hell, he wasn't used to someone wanting to fuck him for nearly four hours straight. He also wasn't even used to _wanting_ someone to fuck him that long and so he had panicked. Naruto was pretty sure that he hurt Orochimaru's feelings because said raven wasn't right beside him bantering with him while trying to study. 

Naruto groaned, he _really_ wasn't good at this sort of thing.

Tobirama heard Naruto's groan and grew worried for the blonde, "Are you okay Naruto?"

Naruto groaned again, dropping his head down on the table in front of him. Tobirama raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Yeah... it's just I'm having personal issues with Orochimaru."

Tobirama raised his eyebrow even higher. He had _not_ been expecting that reply and he briefly wondered what was going on between the two. It was no secret that they had... gotten personal the other night and Naruto had been acting strangely ever since then... almost like the blonde was scared that what happened was a one-time thing.

"Is he really just a friend?"

Naruto sighed, "No... we had sex just the other night after I came back. He wants to go on a date, but it's too soon for me. I mean, no one has ever asked me that before and... I panicked I guess."

"I'm sure he knows and will take a raincheck on that date. It might be a good idea not to ever take him up on his offer and forget that you even considered it."

Naruto glared at the albino, "When you love someone, hell if you are just _interested_ in someone, you don't just stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy... even then. Especially then!"

"Even so, people aren't going to like you and Orochimaru," Tobirama insisted. He didn't know why, but he wanted the blonde to understand that most, if not all, of the villagers, would be against the pairing, despite both of them being counted as the most important war heroes in the village. 

"What do you want me to do, ask my childhood crush out? I fell in love with him and I don't want to hurt him and he sure is going to be hurt if I go to Sasuke! Especially since I told him that I never wanted to do that again!"

"Yeah... that's not a good idea."

"Then what do you expect me to do?" Naruto sighed, then stood up, "I'm going to go train for a while. I'll come back when I'm calmer."

Tobirama nodded his head and Naruto took off. The albino turned his head towards his older brother, who was scowling at him, "What?"

"You know as well as I do that those two idiots like each other," Hashirama scolded.

The elder of the two was right. They both had noted the blushing and the teasing between the two. Also, the sexual tension was quite obvious and it had come to a head when the blonde had come home late from being at Sasuke's. The two men had been home at the time, but Orochimaru hadn't known, being too preoccupied with pleasuring the blonde. It was something that they both wanted to forget and remember at the same time. They weren't _perverts_ per se, but they knew when someone was worshiping someone so much that the other person _sobbed_. They didn't want to remember Naruto's begging of _too much_ or _too good_ , they wanted to remember the fact that Naruto _trusted_ the man despite arriving home in a less than desirable way. 

They both had heard what had happened between him and Sasuke and Tobirama had to restrain his older brother from going to the Uchiha to tear him a new one for touching the loveable blonde. Especially when they heard the blonde's bitter tone. They had an idea that Sasuke had forced himself on Naruto, but when asked, Naruto had said something about eavesdropping, old, perverted men, which had caused Orochimaru and Hashirama to erupt in harmonious laughter, which Naruto had ruined by blushing and running to his room. 

Tobirama sighed, "Orochimaru _is_ better for Naruto than that idiotic childhood crush of his. The Uchiha would just end up breaking his heart. Everyone knows that the Uchiha is head-over-heels for the Haruno girl, which doesn't make explain why he did what he did with Naruto."

Hashirama agreed and Naruto suddenly ran into the room, panting.

"What's wrong, Narutokun?" Hashirama asked, concern written on his face.

Naruto shook his head and tried to breathe deeply. Hashirama rubbed his back to help calm him down.

"Sa-Sasuke is forcing me to go on a date with him..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it bad that I pictured Orochimaru elongating his neck while yelling at Karin when writing the sex scene between him and Naruto? I literally started giggling HELP (The episode where he saves Tsunade is fucking hilarious and I love it, especially when Karin calls him the weirdest one in her mind)
> 
> I just realized that Naruto has a thing for insanely hot pale-skinned raven-haired men (I'm making a Madanaru, a Sasunaru, and now an Orochinaru, lol)
> 
> Also, Sasuke is one messed up individual if he gets a hard-on from forcing his "best friend" against a wall and literally suffocating him with kisses -_-
> 
> One last thing! I will be describing their "relationship" (their being Sasuke and Naruto) off and on (little one-shots basically) for about a period of a year. I may be doing this montage in one chapter or two, I haven't started planning it out yet. I'll only be giving you guys enough information to see what their relationship is like. It might take one or two more chapters to get them to break up, as Naruto can be oblivious. Adorable but oblivious.
> 
> If you liked this chapter, please vote and leave a comment!
> 
> BTW THIS CHAPTER IS 7937 WORDS LONG- THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF CREATING


	4. I'm Driving Myself Crazy, So What If I'm Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay but this chapter is MUCH longer than my previous one, running over 31 pages long without the introduction. (7918 Words Total)
> 
> Also, the title is from the song "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy" by Bebe Rexha. I also quote a line from the song (sick-bitch psychopath)
> 
> I changed the length of Naruto's and Sasuke's relationship from one year to three months. The beginning of this chapter (right after the smut) is a montage of what happens during the three months, so it's most likely going to be confusing as hell. I do try to put in how much time passes in between each dialogue, but I actually wanted it to seem as if no time had passed at all. Naruto and Sasuke "break up" right before Sasuke does something. I know, vague. I'm trying not to spoil too much before you even get to read this chapter. I fucking got depressed writing this, because I know what it feels like to be neglected T^T
> 
> Again, feel free to kill/torture Sasuke in the comment section. I do ask to not bash Sakura. She is oblivious to what Sasuke is doing and is not in on it. She really is in love with the sick-bitch psychopath (i couldn't think of a better word for him).
> 
> Again, I'd like it if you didn't call Naruto a slut because of the circumstances. Between his blossoming feelings for *ahem* Orochi~ and what Sasuke is forcing Naruto to take a part in, Naruto is thoroughly confused.
> 
> There will be a brief sex scene at the beginning. If you are uncomfortable with that, please skip to the first END SMUT. If you are uncomfortable with a verbally abusive, neglective boyfriend or mentions of suicidal ideation or just plain depression, please skip to One Week Later (it won't have the word time skip in front of it).
> 
> There will also be a sex scene between Naruto and Orochimaru near the end (Kami this sounds like the previous chapter lol) and they have a small argument afterward that will probably make everyone want to tear Sasuke's heart out, stomp on it, and stab it repeatedly or even hire Hidan to teach the psychopath a lesson on pain ^-^
> 
> Like I said in the previous chapter, Naruto isn't used to people actually caring for him or wanting to have sex with him and he REALLY isn't used to having crushes on people or acting on those crushes. He believes that Orochimaru doesn't really like him (despite Orochimaru obviously liking him) and so he goes to Sasuke.
> 
> If you like this morbid chapter, please vote and comment, it means a lot to me!

_**\----** _

**Warning! Dubiously consented sex! You have been warned! Don't like it, skip to the first END SMUT.**

Sasuke waited patiently for the blonde to enter the restaurant. He wanted to see if the villagers were actually mistreating his best friend and rival.

Naruto entered the restaurant and received glares from everyone except his "date." He didn't want to go on a date with his "brother," but Sasuke hadn't given him any room to agree, even going as far as threatening to use his Mangekyo Sharingan to subdue Kurama until Naruto agreed.

So Naruto had agreed, much to Kurama's disbelief and anger. Kurama had yelled at Naruto the whole way back to the academy so he could tell Tobirama and Hashirama what was going on before going to the restaurant, a BBQ place that Choji loved.

"I dreamt about you last night," Sasuke started with, causing many of the people to scoff and look away, probably thinking that the teen had finally gone insane.

Naruto blushed at the innuendo. "O-oh?" Naruto mentally smacked himself for his stunted vocabulary. Who says _oh_ when someone says an innuendo?

Sasuke chuckled, a sound that made Naruto feel like something terrible was going to happen.

"I've decided to cancel our date," Sasuke said, watching as Naruto sighed in relief and frowned. Did Naruto not like what happened the other day? Sasuke shrugged, he didn't really care. What he said next caused Naruto to freeze in panic, "We're going to my house."

Naruto wanted to skip out but was too scared that he would actually use his MS **(A/N MS is short for Mangekyou Sharingan)** on his new friend, so he followed the Uchiha to his home. He saw Tobirama and Hashirama outside the restaurant.

Before he could out for them to help him out, Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist and whispered, "Remember what I said, dobe."

Naruto froze, but then forced himself to smile and pretend that everything was okay, even if he really wanted to cry and scream on the inside.

Tobirama and Hashirama watched the two sadly, it was obvious that the blonde didn't want to go with the raven, but they couldn't do anything to help the blonde without making everything worse for him.

It didn't take long for the blonde and raven duo to make it to an apartment not too far away from the compound.

"What are we doing here?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged, "Tsunade gave me this apartment so I could live here until I finish remodeling the Uchiha compound."

Naruto nodded and gulped, scared of being alone with the Uchiha. He wondered when he became scared of the raven, probably that very morning.

Sasuke started climbing the stairs to the bedrooms and Naruto followed, not wanting to anger the raven.

Sasuke smirked, maybe the blonde was just nervous about having sex with him again, Sakura said that he was the best at _everything_ he did, although they haven't had sex yet. The pink-haired girl refused to have sex until they married, which led the raven to decide that Naruto would help him with his sexual frustrations.

The only way that would work is if the blonde _believed_ that Sasuke truly loved him. Sasuke grimaced at that thought, who would love the idiotic blonde **(A/N *cough* Orochimaruyoubitch *cough*)** who didn't know when to shut his loud mouth?

Sasuke sat on his bed, watching as Naruto shifted in the doorway, torn in between leaving and dealing with Sasuke and staying and having sex with someone he didn't want to do that with. He gestured for the blonde to come to him and Naruto slowly obeyed, gulping.

Sasuke pulled Naruto into his lap, chuckling when he blushed. Sasuke gently kissed Naruto on the lips and watched as Naruto relaxed, kissing him back with a stronger passion than before.

The raven pulled Naruto's shirt over his head before pulling his own shirt off, chuckling when the blonde moaned a bit.

Sasuke pushed Naruto down so that the blonde was lying down on the bed with Sasuke on top of him. The raven smirked when Naruto blushed and kissed the blonde again, quickly taking off their pants.

Naruto cried out when Sasuke pushed in a finger dry, again, and relaxed as he felt Kurama heal him, apologizing to the fox for having him help out so much. The fox waved him off and told him not to thank him, he was his kit after all.

Too soon, Sasuke was pushing himself in Naruto's entrance and Naruto cried out for him to slow down to no avail. If anything, his cries served to speed the raven up faster.

Naruto still wasn't aroused, so Sasuke bit his neck and asked him if he wasn't "good enough" for him and called him a man-whore again. Kurama gave Naruto a picture of Orochimaru's hands around his member and Naruto slowly became aroused.

Naruto felt ashamed of having to use a picture of someone else to be able to able to become aroused when having sex with Sasuke but felt better when Kurama wrapped a mental tail around him.

He felt as Sasuke began to jerk him off, but it felt as if the other teen didn't know how to properly pleasure him, and only Kurama sending him pictures of him and Orochimaru having sex kept him aroused enough to release when Sasuke did.

**END SMUT Warning! If you don't like mentions of verbally abusive boyfriends, sexually abusive boyfriends, mentions of suicidal ideation, or just plain old depression, please skip to One Week Later. You have been warned.**

Naruto was glad when Sasuke pulled out, satisfied with only cumming once. He watched as Sasuke left to take a shower and felt as Kurama healed him.

Naruto was sitting up, unsure of what to do, when Sasuke came back into the room.

"I want you to be my boyfriend," Sasuke said bluntly.

Naruto jerked his head to look at Sasuke, a sinking feeling in his stomach, "W-Why me?"

Sasuke smiled softly and Naruto felt his heart skip a beat, "I really like you, Naruto. I want to be with you officially."

Naruto slowly looked down at his hands, he was about to open up his mouth to reject the raven when Sasuke said something that made his blood run cold.

"It's not like anyone else would love an oblivious loud-mouth idiot like you, so I don't see why you wouldn't want to be with me. Besides you said it yourself, you've never been in a relationship before. It would benefit us both, I would be with the boy I love and you'd get to be with someone who loves you."

Naruto slowly nodded his head, not realizing he was crying, hurt that someone close to him would say what he believed himself.

Sasuke smiled again, "Great! Go take a shower and go back to your studying session. I'm staying in Konoha for now so I can be near you more."

\----

"He's handsome. I hope he makes you happy," Tobirama snarked, pissed at the blonde.

"You say that like I broke your heart," Naruto snarked back. Hashirama sighed. They had been yelling at each other ever since the blonde had come back from Sasuke's again. Hashirama had seen the tear tracks and knew that Naruto didn't _want_ to be with the raven, a fact his younger brother had missed, too focused on the fact that Orochimaru would be heartbroken. He was pretty sure Naruto wanted to be with Orochimaru instead of Sasuke but was scared of what Sasuke would do if he ever said or did that.

"Not me, but someone else," Tobirama responded, hinting that Orochimaru would be heartbroken. Hashirama sighed, knowing that the oblivious blonde wouldn't understand what Tobirama was talking about.

"Who?" Naruto asked, confused. No one liked him. No one would be heartbroken. Sure, Orochimaru would be hurt that he was dating the guy that he said that he promised that he wouldn't ever have sex with ever again.

"You really are an idiot, else you're just not used to love," Tobirama deadpanned, exasperated that the blonde didn't _understand._

"Knowing me? It's probably both," Naruto confessed, shocking the two Hokages with his self-awareness of his own personality. "I think you forget that I never had a loving family growing up. My father-figure is Iruka-sensei. Kakashi-sensei is like the weird uncle to me, possibly even another father-figure, I don't know yet. Sasuke and Sakura are my siblings and they hated me until just before the war! I have a third father-figure, Teuchi Ichiraku, the one who makes the most amazing ramen. Kurama is a friend who views me as one of his own kits, and Lord Third was like a grandfather! I never had anyone to teach me about love, since the two people I liked growing up hated me!"

Tobirama gulped, feeling guilty. He had forgotten that in his anger. Hashirama watched Naruto sadly, noting Orochimaru's presence outside the door, listening to what made Naruto so angry.

Naruto continued without missing a beat, "The guy I view as a _brother_ wants me to be his boyfriend and it feels so _wrong_ , but I don't know what else to do, because honestly, Orochimaru deserves much better than an oblivious loud-mouthed idiot like me!"

Hashirama cut in softly, "And if he likes oblivious loud-mouthed idiots like you?"

Naruto looked at Hashirama with an unreadable expression, "Sasuke told me that no one other than himself would like me the way I am," he confessed and suddenly the room was filled with killing intent.

All three men looked towards the door to a smiling raven, "Hello, Naruto-kun, do you want some help with studying today?"

Naruto gulped, not knowing what he had said to make the raven so angry. He nodded, "Y-yes."

Orochimaru noticed his reaction and reigned in his killing intent, causing the blonde to sigh in relief, "Alright!"

Naruto smiled at the raven and looked around him, noticing that he had forgotten to bring a pencil that morning. He knocked his head against the desk, startling the three older men, "I forgot to bring a pencil," he whined.

Orochimaru laughed, "That's okay, I brought two."

"You make it seem like you knew I would forget my pencil."

"It was a possibility," Orochimaru confessed, laughing at the face Naruto gave him.

\----

"Have a good day at work," Naruto called out to his boyfriend. They had started living together before the week had ended. Naruto had thought that they were moving too fast but hadn't said anything.

"Hn," Was the only response that he got as Sasuke went out the door. It seemed that the _I love you_ was only said during sex and Naruto began to suspect that Sasuke was only using him to relieve the tension, but then shook that thought out. He knew that Sasuke wasn't very affectionate and decided to give the raven the benefit of the doubt.

Naruto sighed as he went to study with Orochimaru, Hashirama, and Tobirmama. Sasuke had told him that he didn't want his boyfriend to live with other men, but had said that they could still study together and hang out, as long as he came home by 4 pm so he could cook dinner for them.

"I saved a piece for you," Naruto called out as Sasuke entered their apartment later than usual.

"I already ate at work," Sasuke responded. Naruto sighed and put the food up.

"Take my jacket, it's cold outside," Naruto called out, already shrugging his jacket off. It was in the middle of December and was currently snowing. He didn't have to study or go to therapy today, so he'd be fine if he stayed in the warm apartment.

"I'll be fine," Sasuke called back, going outside without a jacket on, leaving a depressed blonde.

"You can have half," Naruto tried, trying to be romantic by sharing the cupcakes. He had decided to create the treats for missing the raven's birthday, although the said raven hadn't been in Konoha at the time.

"I'd rather have all of it," Sasuke countered. He didn't like sharing food with the blonde.

"O-oh," Naruto stuttered and gave the raven the other half of the last cupcake, much to Sasuke's delight. The depressive feeling deepened.

"I made your favorite," Naruto whispered. It had taken him until January to learn not to yell around the raven. If he did, he would be yelled at or beaten sexually. He didn't like either option. He was a masochist but that always turned him off, not on.

"Not now, dobe," Sasuke replied, working on some paperwork that he had to turn in soon. He smirked when he realized that the blonde didn't know that the raven was filling out engagement papers and not a mission report.

Naruto sighed, "I'll go put it up in the fridge, then." The depressive feeling was almost constant now.

"Can I hold your hand?" Naruto asked. It was their first time in public together since they started "dating," and Naruto didn't like the looks everyone gave the Uchiha.

"We're in public, dobe," Sasuke scolded.

Naruto straightened his spine. "I-i'm sorry!" he yelped, not wanting to be punished again.

Sasuke just scoffed and thought of ways to punish the blonde for breaking the rule for asking for physical affection in public.

"You can borrow mine," Naruto whispered as he got dressed. He mentally thanked Kurama as the fox healed him. Kurama was as depressed as his host but always tried his best to make sure that Naruto was happy or joyful for even a few moments. He also helped Naruto to get aroused when he needed to.

"No thanks, I'll just grab my own," Sasuke answered shortly.

"All your other clothes are dirty!" Naruto whisper yelled, aghast at his boyfriend's behavior.

Sasuke shrugged, "At least it'd fit properly."

Naruto remained quiet, not wanting to anger his boyfriend for the second time that day.

"Can I kiss you?" Naruto asked as they continued to get ready for bed.

"Not now, I'm tired," Sasuke sighed. It was really taxing to be in a relationship with the blonde. He only needed to continue this for a month, then he could marry Sakura, and then he wouldn't need to continue this farce.

"Why are you up so early?" Naruto asked groggily. It was 5 am and Sasuke was getting dressed really loud, seemingly not caring if the blonde woke up or not.

"I have to go to work," Sasuke replied.

"That's all you do nowadays! You're never home anymore!" Naruto yelled, getting tired of his boyfriend's behavior.

"Sorry, I'm late," Naruto sighed as he came home a half-hour later than usual.

"Where were you?" Sasuke demanded.

"Therapy?" Naruto replied though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"For two fucking hours?" Sasuke questioned, not believing the blonde.

"I told him that I wanted to kill myself and he wanted to make sure that I was alright," Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders like it was normal for him to say that. To him it _was_. Inochi had asked him about his relationship and advised him to break it off if Sasuke's behavior didn't get better before the week ended. It had nearly been three months since the two had started dating and Naruto was worse off than when he started going to therapy.

"You're a terrible liar. Now, what really happened?" Sasuke asked, trying to get the blonde to tell him the truth.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Naruto defended himself. He _was_ in therapy for nearly all day.

"Whatever just fix dinner," Sasuke ordered. Naruto scampered off, not wanting to anger him even more. He found the raven working on paperwork.

"Pay attention to me," Naruto begged.

"I'm working, dobe," Sasuke replied, annoyed at the blonde.

"Why are you lying?" Sasuke asked nearly seven days later.

"I'm not! I really do need the extra help!" Naruto yelled, tears finally falling down his face.

Sasuke didn't respond as he packed everything. The remodeling was done and he didn't need to come back here, not that Naruto needed to know that.

"Please say something. Don't leave before saying something," Naruto begged. He couldn't believe that Sasuke was leaving him for real.

"... Goodnight Naruto. Don't wait up for me."

**One Week Later**

Naruto walked through Konoha, depressed. Sasuke hadn't returned to "their" home. It was more Naruto's home now than Sasuke's.

A few minutes into the walk, Lee bumped into him. Naruto apologized to the eccentric Shinobi, confusing Neji who was behind Lee. What Lee asked next caused Naruto's blood to freeze.

"Are you going to Sasuke's and Sakura's wedding?"

"W-wedding? Sasuke a-and Sakura?"

"Yeah, those two have been youthfully dating for three months! A month ago Sasuke youthfully proposed to her! Everyone was there but you, he had said that you weren't feeling well," Lee responded, not noticing Naruto's stuttering, though Neji did.

Naruto felt like throwing up. He usually didn't get nauseous, though it had been happening for the past one-and-a-half months. Kurama always helped him out before Sasuke could find out about it, which helped the blonde escape more punishments. Kurama again tried to help Naruto out, suspecting that something was up with his blonde host.

"C-could you show m-me?" Naruto asked. He wanted to see it with his eyes.

Neji watched the blonde and realized what had happened. _Sasuke had cheated on Sakura with Naruto and had made it seem like he loved Naruto only to leave and marry Sakura._

Neji smiled softly, "Sure."

Lee escorted the nervous blonde to a spot so he could see the wedding on the cliff. They came in view of it just as Sasuke and Sakura kissed and left.

Naruto thanked the eccentric Shinobi and left for their shared apartment. He couldn't hold his nausea any longer and rushed to the bathroom, emptying his stomach. He heard Kurama whispering comforting words to him and thanked the fox for trying to help. He was scared, as he had never been sick before and this had been going on for nearly two months now, though nausea never lasted that long.

As soon as he was able to, he quickly packed everything and left the offending place. He stopped by a bar and bought a few drinks, not wanting to be too drunk when he arrived at his old apartment, only drinking enough to be courageous enough to actually knock on the door.

Naruto nervously knocked on the door, wanting anyone else but Orochiamru or Tobirama to open it. Tobirama, of course, was the one to open the door.

"C-could I c-come in?" Naruto stuttered, his voice quiet and eyes downcast, the results of being in a relationship with the raven-haired Uchiha.

Tobirama nodded mutely and opened the door wider. Hashirama saw the depressed blonde with his suitcase and immediately took his stuff to his old room.

"All he ever did was use you. Why couldn't you see that?" Tobirama said, trying to understand the blonde. Naruto had waited to come back, he was in denial after the younger raven left him.

"I c-could and that's th-the worst part. I-i guess I j-just didn't want t-to see it a-and so I let it con-continue and now h-he's broken my h-heart," Naruto said, referring to the day he and Sasuke started dating.

"Not everyone is going to hurt you. One day you'll find the person who will make everything that you've lived through so much more worth it," Tobirama advised, trying to cheer the depressed blonde up.

"Wi-will I?" Naruto asked, obviously not believing the older man.

"Of course, they're right under your nose, all you have to do is look for them and they'll make themself known," Tobirama responded, smiling down at the smaller male, talking about another raven-haired male, this one with kind yellow eyes.

Orochimaru took that time to enter the apartment. He saw Naruto in the living room and had one look at Naruto's face before leaving again.

_Shit! I forgot that he had asked me out on a date after everything that has happened! He must hate me now!_

"You know, Orochimaru has started working at the hospital recently?" Hashirama asked, bringing Naruto out of his panicked thoughts.

"N-no," Naruto confessed. "W-when did h-he start working th-there?" Naruto cursed himself for stuttering around his old friends (no pun intended).

"He started...a week ago if I remember correctly. Inochi told him that he was ready to work with people, though he gets bullied because of his actions by the nurses. Still, Sakura is really nice to him."

Naruto frowned at the mention of his female teammate. He didn't have anything _against_ the female, she just reminded him of his ex-boyfriend.

"I-is he good?" Naruto asked.

Hashirama laughed at the double meaning, "He's much better than he used to be, due to therapy. He also has a knack for healing people and learning. Tsunade is having him continue studying, for now."

Naruto forced himself to smile brightly -Sasuke had _hated_ it when he smiled big and wide- though it wasn't that hard because Naruto _loved_ hearing how Orochimaru was doing, "Th-that's good to h-hear!"

Orochimaru walked back into the apartment, with a tube in his hands. It looked like it was cold, due to Orochimaru's hands turning red.

"Here, you might like this," Orochimaru said, handing Naruto the tube.

"W-what is it?" Naruto asked, cursing himself for stuttering in front of the man he respected.

"I _know_ for sure that you know that it is ice cream," Orochimaru said, raising an eyebrow.

"... I th-thought that ice c-cream came on st-sticks," Naruto confessed, curiously opening the tube to see the frozen treat inside.

"... W h a t," Orochimaru asked. Naruto was talking about popsicles, not ice cream, although there _was_ the ice cream that came on sticks.

Tobirama looked at Hashirama. "That's it, we're eating ice cream from now on," Tobirama informed his confused older brother.

Orochimaru laughed at the childish behavior, "You'll need to eat something other than ice cream, Tobirama-san."

"No, I won't," Tobirama stubbornly responded.

Naruto's moan of delight brought the three older men's attention back to him. Naruto had found a spoon and was happily digging into the treat, swinging his legs like a small child. It reminded the three men that he didn't have a normal childhood.

Naruto noticed the three men watching him, "W-what?" He asked, trying not to panic from the thought that he had done something terribly wrong.

Orochimaru smiled softly, "Nothing, I was just reminded of a small child having ice cream for the first time. It was quite adorable."

Naruto blushed and Orochimaru chuckled. He forgot how adorable Naruto could get. He had missed being able to tease the beautiful blonde.

"Do you want to eat all of that?" Orochimaru asked, keeping a soft smile on his face.

Naruto shook his head, "N-no, I'll save s-some for tomorrow."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Orochimaru asked, noticing that Naruto's stuttering was dying down. He smiled at the thought that Naruto was relaxing more around them.

"I don't k-know... cuddle a-and pretend he d-doesn't exist and want m-me back?" Naruto asked, putting the treat into the freezer.

"Sounds fun, can I join?" Hashirama asked.

"No, j-just Orochi...maru please," Naruto hesitantly responded, scared that the man would be angry that he had refused him something.

Orochimaru noticed his pause when saying his name, almost as if he wasn't sure if he'd be angry if he called him by his nickname. He frowned, wondering what Sasuke had done to make the blonde so scared of human interaction in just three months.

Hashirama smiled, "Alright, that's fine."

Naruto's head snapped up, eyes wide. He hadn't expected that answer, despite knowing that the brunette was kind and understanding.

Naruto smiled and walked to his room, Orochimaru following behind him, glaring at the two Hokages and mouthing for them to leave. They looked away, pretending that they couldn't see his mouth moving and Orochimaru tsked, annoyed that they did that.

Innocent his ass.

"Can I hug you?" Orochimaru asked softly when they entered Naruto's old room.

"... Y-yeah," Naruto agreed and the raven climbed into the bed, holding the blonde into his chest, rubbing his back. Naruto started crying again and Orochimaru whispered into his ear, "You're safe now. I've got you."

Naruto began to cry harder and Orochimaru tightened his arms around the crying blonde. "Shhh, I know," Orochimaru whispered, trying to comfort the heart-broken blonde.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Naruto suddenly yelled, startling the two men in the living room.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Says who? Someone played with my feelings as well, I just moved on because of the war and therapy."

"...I didn't know, I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, feeling guilty for yelling at his... ex-lover? Best friend? He didn't really know who the raven was to him anymore.

"Don't be, it was embarrassing, really," Orochimaru shrugged, bringing Naruto's arms up to his shoulders so the hug would be more comfortable.

"W-was it...?" Naruto trailed off, cursing himself for asking such an inconsiderate question.

"Yes, it was Kabuto. Inochi has helped me move completely past what he did. He told me something that I'm going to tell you: You deserve so much better," Orochimaru responded, not bothered anymore at the mention of the silver head's name.

"No, I don't," Naruto whispered into Orochimaru's chest.

The raven-haired man leaned away from the blonde and grabbed Naruto's chin, gently forcing the blonde to look at him.

"I _said_ , you deserve so much better," Orochimaru insisted and watched as the teen's face scrunched up in confusion and barely-there hope.

"...Really?" Naruto asked, not ready to believe the older man.

"Yes," Orochimaru whispered, bringing Naruto's face up to kiss him, Naruto slowly kissing him back.

"Please don't leave me," Naruto whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere," Orochimaru whispered before kissing him softly again. "Go to sleep, Naru."

**Warning Smut Scene starts (again it's body worship/ overstimulation. Bondage and sex toys are used) Don't like, skip to END SMUT #2**

"Come over here and make me," Naruto muttered against Orochimaru's lips.

"Did you just make a sexual innuendo?" Orochimaru asked, amused.

"Depends on if you want it to be or not," Naruto replied vaguely, licking his lips nervously.

"Oh, I want it to be, I was just checking if you meant it like that or not," Orochimaru replied, smirking when he heard Naruto whimper.

"Yes, now get over here and kiss me like there's no tomorrow," Naruto clarified, tipping his head back so Orochimaru could kiss him easier.

"You do know that you were just left by your boyfriend, right?" Orochimaru asked, concerned for Naruto's mental health.

"I'm drunk," Naruto confessed.

"That makes sense," Orochimaru murmured as he lowered his head to kiss Naruto slowly. He felt Naruto relax into the kiss and made his goal to make the boy sob in ecstasy and make him forget his heartbreak, even if just for a few hours.

"Are you going to remember this?" Orochimaru asked, pulling away from the boy he had fallen so deeply in love with.

"Most likely, I'm already sobering up. Can I kiss you?" Naruto suddenly asked. Orochimaru chuckled, only Naruto could sober up in a second's flash. Kurama was probably trying to protect the blonde by making it impossible to get completely drunk.

"You don't have to ask each time," Orochimaru responded, a smile on his lips.

Naruto kissed Orochimaru briefly, "I know, I just want to make sure you want to kiss me."

"Of course I do."

Naruto pulled Orochimaru for a more passionate kiss than before. Naruto opened his mouth as soon as the raven nibbled his bottom lip and the two battled for dominance. Orochimaru easily won, though he did let Naruto dominate for a few seconds. Orochimaru's hands found themselves on the blonde's hips while Naruto's hands stayed in the raven's long hair.

Orochimaru pulled back to let the blonde breathe, kissing alongside the boy's neck, softly sucking on the delicate skin and nipping occasionally. Naruto softly moaned and Orochimaru felt Tobirama's and Hashirama's chakra signatures disappear and he smirked.

"Do you want some space tonight?" Orochimaru asked, kissing behind his ear, earning a soft gasp.

"Don't give me space. I thought I made it clear that's the last thing I want with you," Naruto gasped out, tugging the raven's hair, wanting another kiss. Orochimaru stayed where he was, preferring to tease the blonde.

"Oh really?" Orochimaru whispered in Naruto's ear, causing a small shiver to run down the teen's spine. "What do you want, then?" Orochimaru asked, still whispering in his ear and the shivering intensified for a second.

"To get as close as I can to you and then closer," Naruto gasped out without hesitation, tugging on Orochimaru's hair again. This time Orochimaru let himself be pulled into another passionate kiss. To him, each kiss became sweeter and sweeter. Naruto felt the same way. He just couldn't get enough of the older man's lips. Especially when those lips worshipped his body like it was the best thing that they've ever tasted.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were asking to have comfort sex with me," Orochimaru said, looking Naruto straight into his blue eyes.

A shiver ran down Naruto's spine, this one in anticipation of things to come, "And if I said that I was?"

"Are you sure? You might regret it later," Orochimaru warned, searching Naruto's eyes for any sign of hesitance.

"I'm sure. I... know that you'll give me what I need," Naruto confessed. "And if I come to regret this, then I'll cross that bring when it comes."

Orochimaru nodded and kissed _his_ blonde, this time slow and sweet. He wanted to pour out his feelings to the oblivious blonde but was scared that this would up just like last time. Orochimaru slowly took Naruto's shirt off and Naruto was reminded that his chest was extremely sensitive.

Orochimaru slowly played the nubs, pinching and tugging one while sucking, nipping, and licking the other. Naruto had given up trying to stop Orochimaru from teasing him and he knew that tonight was going to be _long_ in the best way possible.

After what felt an eternity to the blonde, Orochimaru switched to the other nipple, Naruto alternating in between sobs and moaning, writhing underneath the man who was determined to make him lose his mind from the pleasure. Naruto had become hard a long time ago and with every second that Orochimaru spent on his chest, the harder he became, which he felt should be impossible.

Too soon for the sobbing blonde, Orochimaru pulled away from the blonde's chest and leaned forward to whisper in the blonde's ear, "I want to try some things with you. How do you feel about bondage?"

Naruto writhed and moaned at the question and Orochimaru smirked. "It seems like my Naru has a bondage kink~" Orochimaru teased. "Wait here, Naru. Don't touch yourself while I'm gone, understand?"

If Naruto could, he would have been even more aroused at the command. As it was, all he could do was let out a sobbing moan and nod. Orochimaru smirked at his reaction and left the room, leaving the writhing blonde on the bed.

Naruto really did try his best not to move, but he _needed_ to do something about his throbbing member that was straining in his pants, and writhing around was the only way to distract himself. Naruto was pretty sure that Orochimaru could hear his sobbing and moving around from his room and was taking his time like the sadist that he was.

After a few minutes, Orochimaru returned with a bag, smirking at the scene in front of him. Naruto had his back arched and was shifting himself, trying to relieve the pressure in his crotch. His nipples were hard and red, bite marks and hickeys generously surrounding them. Naruto's mouth was open and tears were running down his face. His hands were tangled in his sheets and his legs were trembling.

"O-ochi, please," Naruto sobbed.

"Please what, baby?" Orochimaru asked, already knowing what Naruto wanted. It was quite obvious what Naruto wanted and needed.

Naruto blushed at the pet name and shifted again, "I-it hurts," he whined and Orochimaru smirked.

Yep, he definitely was a sadist, but it was okay because Naruto _loved_ it when Orochimaru did this to him. He _loved_ it when Orochimaru made him sob in pleasure and he continuously found himself asking himself what it would be like to be in a relationship with the raven, would he be kind and understanding, or dark and twisted?

Orochimaru stalked towards the blonde impossibly slow, taking in the sight before him. He laid the bag down next to the blonde before crawling over the blonde, who was sobbing again when Orochimaru bypassed his crotch.

"What do you want, baby? I need you to tell me what hurts so I can help you~" Orochimaru teased, whispering into the blonde's ear. Naruto's hips bucked upwards and he whimpered in embarrassment.

Orochimaru decided to give Naruto a small mercy by rubbing Naruto's clothed member, causing Naruto to cry out, "Is this what hurts, baby?" Orochimaru asked, his voice husky.

Naruto could barely manage to nod his head, but Orochimaru smirked again, "I need you to be vocal, dear~"

"Y-yes!" Naruto yelped immediately, causing Orochimaru to chuckle.

Orochimaru slowly undid Naruto's pants, sliding them down the blonde impossible slow. Naruto sobbed in relief when he was only in his boxers. Orochimaru rubbed the sides of Naruto's hips before yanking down Naruto's boxers as well.

Naruto gasped when his member was finally released, shocked slightly by the chiller air hitting it. While Naruto was stunned, Orochimaru reached into the bag and pulled out a cock ring. Naruto sobbed as soon as he saw it, already knowing where this was going.

"Is this okay?" Orochimaru asked, kissing Naruto.

Naruto nodded rapidly, "Y-yes, please yes."

Orochimaru chuckled at the blonde, "Who knew that you were so kinky, Naru?"

Naruto didn't have time to respond as Orochimaru put the cock ring on Naruto's weeping member. The second thing Orochimaru pulled out of the bag was a pair of comfortable handcuffs. Orochimaru gently untangled the teen's hands from his sheets and cuffed them to the bed frame.

Naruto was trembling in anticipation as Orochimaru stored the keys in the nightstand beside the bed.

After Orochimaru was done, he turned around to see a sight he would never forget. Naruto's hair was a mess, splaying around his head. His beautiful blue eyes were half-lidded and darkened with arousal, making them almost a royal blue instead of the usual sky blue. His arms were above his head, cuffed to the bed frame, but he seemed relaxed.

Well, as relaxed as someone could be when they had a raging arousal and their sadistic lover put a cock ring on the thing that they wanted taken care of.

Orochimaru briefly wondered if clamps would be too much or if he should just keep using his mouth before settling on just using his mouth. One thing for certain was that he was going to see if he wanted to use a dildo.

Orochimaru pulled the sex toy out of the bag and Naruto gaped at the rubber object, "This is a dildo, Naru~ This one is special, though~ Do you want to play with it while I go back to playing with these," Orochimaru flicked one of Naruto's perked nipples and Naruto moaned, nodding his head, curious about the toy.

Orochimaru grinned. He sucked on one of the nipples, causing Naruto to arch his back into his touch. Orochimaru took that time to lube up the toy and gently push it into the sobbing blonde.

It seemed like every one of his muscles was trembling when he felt Orochimaru push in the toy. It was only then that Naruto realized that Orochimaru was still fully dressed. This thought was only at the forefront of his mind for a second before he felt the toy press against his prostate.

Naruto bucked his hips, moaning loudly. Instead of pulling the toy back out, Orochimaru kept the toy pressed against the trembling boy's prostate. Orochimaru chuckled as he grabbed a small remote and turned the dial slightly.

Naruto's scream of ecstasy was magnificent and his sobs only added to the beauty of the moment.

Orochimaru went back to Naruto's nipples as he heard Naruto chant the shortened version of his name over and over again. Orochimaru knew that he was overstimulating the blonde, and the raven watched his reactions to make sure the blonde was still okay with everything.

"Are you okay?" Orochimaru asked, receiving a flurry of head nods in approval.

Orochimaru finally had enough of waiting and began to slowly undress as Naruto watched, still writhing and moaning because of the vibrator and cock ring.

When Orochimaru finally got undressed, he turned the vibrator off, shocking the blonde who started the sob again. Orochimaru slowly took the vibrator out, causing the blonde to whine at the loss, only to sob when Orochimaru replaced it with himself.

Orochimaru smiled as Naruto began to beg for him to move, never once begging to touch himself, yet. Orochimaru set a tortuously slow pace and Naruto sobbed in ecstasy, finally begging for Orochimaru to take the damn cock ring off, his words exactly.

Orochimaru complied and Naruto immediately released, sobbing when he was still hard. Orochimaru slowly set a faster pace, finally, until Naruto began screamed silently as his prostate was being abused, not that it _wasn't_ before.

Naruto began to beg for his hands to be released so he could touch himself, but Orochimaru growled, "You're not allowed to touch yourself tonight. If you want to, be a good boy~"

Naruto felt his member twitch and harden more and he moaned. He never knew that he would like Orochimaru commanding him not to touch himself so much.

Orochimaru began to suck on _his_ blonde's neck and Naruto arched his back. He _loved_ Orochimaru's mouth, it could do such sinful things. So could his hands, for that matter.

What he loved most about Orochimaru, though, was that Orochimaru was kind and caring. He helped Naruto out when he didn't have to, was quiet but not stoic, and laughed the most beautiful laugh Naruto had ever heard. His voice, when spoken, was like amber, a slow measured baritone voice that relaxed and soothed Naruto. When he got aroused, that voice was ten times better at keeping him aroused than Sasuke's.

Orochimaru's pace didn't falter and Naruto could feel himself slipping over the edge again. He knew that Orochimaru knew because the older man chuckled and began to play with his chest again, causing him to cry out and sob.

Naruto was pretty sure that his chest was going to be darkly bruised by the time they were done. He could vaguely hear Kurama in his mind teasing him, which just served to make him more aroused, which shut up the fox very quickly.

"Do you need to release again, baby boy~" Orochimaru whispered.

Naruto gasped at the pet name, deciding that he liked it, "Y-yes Ochi~" Naruto moaned out.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Do you want me to touch you?"

Naruto nodded and Orochimaru's sinful hands found his member and Naruto sobbed again as Orochimaru continued his ministrations on his chest with his mouth. Naruto writhed, the pleasure becoming too much.

Naruto tried to tell Orochimaru that and the raven immediately stopped his kissing along his chest, instead kissing Naruto's tears away. That didn't help since Orochimaru was still thrusting at his brutal pace and his sinful hands were going at the same pace as his thrusts.

Naruto reached his second release that night soon after, with Orochimaru following for the first time.

Orochimaru pulled out of Naruto and uncuffed Naruto's hands, which went straight to the raven's hair and pulled the older man in for a kiss. It was soft and sweet and passionate. There wasn't anything extra attached to the kiss, just their feelings.

This time, it was Naruto asking if they could do another round, which Orochimaru happily agreed to, after letting Naruto have a few minutes to come down from the orgasmic high.

They ended up having more than just one more round, three more to be exact. One round Orochimaru made Naruto sob from pleasure, the other two he made Naruto moan and dig his nails in his back from the roughness, Orochimaru always asking if the blonde was okay. They actually ended up using those clamps and they both found out _exactly_ how much he had _loved_ the painful pinching.

Orochimaru made sure to also pay attention to his neck, bringing the area to the same bruising as his chest.

**END SMUT #2**

After the last round, Naruto and Orochimaru began cuddling, Naruto melting into the raven's warm embrace.

_**Hey kit, are you okay?** _

_What do you mean, Kurama?_

_**You did just have comfort-sex with the man that you like.** _

_I know._

_**What will Sasuke say if he finds out?** _

Naruto shot upwards at the mention that Sasuke could find out that he "cheated," forgetting that his "boyfriend" was married to Sakura now. "I shouldn't have come, it was a mistake coming here," Naruto babbled, panicked, and pulled his pants back on, wincing at the soreness.

He briefly asked Kurama to heal him and growled when the fox refused.

"Was it?" Orochimaru asked, his stomach dropping at the thought that Naruto didn't like what they just did.

"I don't know. I just used you like Sasuke used me!" Naruto said, worried that he had hurt Orochimaru.

"Did you?" Orochimaru asked, the sinking feeling intensifying.

"I don't know," Naruto nearly yelled, pulling on his long hair. During his time with Sasuke, he had let it grow out to his chin. "I really do enjoy your company! I like o-our talks and when you listen to that idiotic dream of mine. I have had more fun with you in one night than with my so-called boyfriend in three months!"

"And that's a bad thing?" Orochimaru asked, the sinking feeling lightening up slightly.

"Yes! I'm supposed to support my boyfriend and then he's gone for a week only for me to find out he got married? And then I came here a-and basically had a one-night-stand with you!" Naruto yelled, still panicking.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again," Orochimaru confessed. Internally he was scared that Naruto would deny him again.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again, not after a date though," Orochimaru replied, nervous for Naruto's reaction.

"Leave. Before we wake up sometime tomorrow afternoon regretting what we've done. Go to Baachan and tell her that we can't stay together anymore," Naruto responded, scared that Orochimaru was just using him.

"I'm not going anywhere. I quite enjoyed what we did, though if you're uncomfortable with me, I'll go to the next room. I really do like you and want to go on a date with you, but I understand if it's too soon for you," Orochimaru firmly responded, trying to show how sincere he was.

Naruto was silent for a while. He searched Orochimaru to see if the man was telling the truth. The raven looked so sincere that it scared him.

_**Kit, listen to him, he is telling the truth. He won't do anything to hurt you. If you don't believe me, I can show you everything from my point of view.** _

_...Are you sure? Sasuke said the same thing._

_**Orochimaru isn't Sasuke.** _

"...Stay," Naruto whispered, scared that the older man would leave, even though he had told him to.

"Alright, do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Orochimaru asked, opening his arms for a hug. Naruto blushed since the man was still naked and Naruto only had pants on.

Naruto nodded, climbing into the bed, "Yes..."

"Goodnight, Naru," Orochimaru whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around the blonde.

"Good night, Orochi," Naruto whispered back, closing his blue eyes slowly, tired from the breakdown earlier and then the awesome sex just a few minutes ago.

Naruto felt _safe_ in Orochimaru's arms, something Sasuke could never make Naruto feel.


	5. I Promise You Don't Have To Be Afraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm toning down on the sex scenes for the next few chapters. Please keep in mind that Naruto is now three months pregnant. I'm going to be researching pregnancies and the symptoms and medical treatments while writing this story, so feel free to correct me if I get something wrong.
> 
> I am thinking of making a sequel to this story, called "We Can Always Try Again." It will be similar to this book, but different. It will have a few OCs and I hope you guys enjoy it when I actually.
> 
> The title for this chapter comes from a line from the song Little Do You Know by Alex and Sierra.
> 
> Also, Naruto is nearing the end of his first trimester (first week to the end of the 12th week). I'm going to pretend that the medical Ninjutsu can tell if someone is pregnant and about how far along they are and how many children they are pregnant with.
> 
> If you enjoy this chapter, please vote and leave a comment!

Naruto woke up around noon nauseous and immediately ran to the bathroom, emptying his already near-empty stomach. Orochimaru woke up almost at the same time as Naruto and followed the blonde to the bathroom. He rubbed the teen's back and whispered comforting words until Naruto stopped heaving.

The raven took the time to help the blonde get dressed into loose and comfortable clothes before escorting Naruto to the Hokage Tower to get him help. Orochimaru knew of Naruto's near-perfect immune system and was worried that the addition of the other tailed beasts' chakra was negatively affecting him.

Orochimaru entered the Tower through the window, startling Tsunade, Hashirama, and Tobirama and expertly dodged the sake bottle that was thrown at him, Naruto following suit a few seconds later.

"What have I told you two gakis about using that damn window?" Tsunade yelled.

Orochimaru had the decency to look somewhat guilty, "Sorry, Tsunade-sama, but we needed to speak with you immediately."

Tsunade straightened up in her chair. After the first time that he had called her sama, he only did it when he was very serious, "What is going on?"

"Please tell her what is going on, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shook his embarrassment at what was going on with him, **"Kit please tell her what is going on."** Kurama begged, not caring that the other beasts could hear his "pathetic" begging.

 **"If Kurama is begging, then it's bad,"** Shukaku told him, trying to convince the blonde.

 **"Kurama is right, hatchling,"** Isobu said.

The other six all said something similar and finally, Naruto sighed and began to speak, though it was subdued and quiet, "I've been feeling nauseous for the past one and a half month. Kurama had been helping out as much as possible, though yesterday and today he wasn't able to help me in time."

Tsunade got up slowly and walked up to the quiet blonde, "Do I have permission to check you using Medical Ninjutsu? It will be non-invasive, so you don't have to have to worry about it harming you in any way."

Naruto slowly nodded and Tsunade let her hand glow green before she placed it over his stomach. She frowned when she felt a mass and increased her chakra to try to see what it was.

Naruto watched as his godmother froze and as her hand fell from his stomach, "Baachan?" He called softly. When she didn't answer he frowned and gently shook her shoulders, bringing her out of her shock, "Baachan? What's the matter?" He asked, nervous for her answer.

Tsunade gulped, "Well... you're pregnant."

Naruto blinked and Orochimaru froze. Tobirama snickered at their shock and Hashirama whacked him and told him to shush, which caused Orochimaru to smirk at the albino. Hashirama threatened to hit him too and Orochimaru quickly behaved, much to Naruto's amusement.

"Ano, baachan... is there a way to check an unborn's parentage?" Naruto asked nervously.

Tsunade frowned, leaning back onto the desk behind her, "There is, but it's risky. Both options can lead to a miscarriage, an infection, or even pregnancy complications. I would need to know why you want to do one, as it can be seen as unethical to some people."

Naruto nodded, "I want to see my unborn's parentage. I will keep the child, either way, but it will put my mind at ease."

Tsunade nodded, "Who is the father?"

Naruto blushed, "That's what I want to find out."

Tsunade chuckled, "No, what I mean is that I need a DNA sample from one of the men that you think might be the father."

Naruto's blush deepened and Orochimaru cleared his throat, "T-that would be me," he admitted, nervous about his former teammate's reaction.

Tsunade narrowed his eyes at the man, "Please tell me that he consented to your advances fully before you did _anything_."

Naruto nodded his head rapidly, "I did, you should be warning S-Sasuke that."

Tsunade blinked then grabbed her bottle of sake, "I'm too sober for this."

Orochimaru chuckled nervously as she drank the whole bottle before grabbing for another.

"Oi, gaki, do you want to wait for another month before your mid-pregnancy ultrasound? That's when the mothers usually learn their child's gender. You're about three months along, so you can see your child's gender right now if you wish."

Naruto frowned and glanced at the raven beside him, tilting his head, "I-I'll wait a-another month," he stuttered out, cursing himself for his anxiety.

Orochimaru smiled at Naruto encouragingly as Tsunade's eyes widened as she finally saw what was different with the usually loud blonde. At first, she had thought it was just physical with a slightly leaner body and long blonde hair, but now she realized that the blonde had been talking in near-whispers the whole time and his eyes were darting around the room, paranoid that someone would be listening in and would hurt him later. He also looked like he was afraid of making someone angry with a decision that he made or if he spoke too loud. Tsunade frowned, _who hurt Naruto like this? It wasn't Orochimaru, he obviously cares for him as a lover should._

"I-i'm also prepared for any complications that may arise," Naruto stuttered out, his words confident.

Tsunade smiled before escorting the group -Hashirama and Tobirama wanted to support the blonde during the procedure- to the hospital. She left Naruto, Hashirama, and Tobirama with Shizune -after telling her why they were there- before taking off with Orochimaru.

"So, Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama tells me that you want a prenatal paternity test. Did she tell you the risks involved?"

Naruto nodded slowly, "She told me that both options are invasive and can lead to a miscarriage."

"That's true. There are two options, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling or CVS. She told me you are about 3 months along, meaning that CVS will most likely be what we will go with since amniocentesis can cause complications if we do it sooner than 15 weeks in. There are two types of CVS procedures, transabdominal and transcervical. Transabdominal CVS is the most common choice made by pregnant women, as it is easier to get the placenta that way. Either way, we will be using an ultrasound image to guide the procedure."

Naruto nodded, "Which procedure would you recommend for me?"

Shizune looked thoughtful, "Most likely Transabdominal CVS as you don't have a vagina to work with. I also feel like I should tell you that the results can take anywhere from a few hours to a month to come back. We will most likely put this test on top priority, meaning that the laboratory professionals will run it first and not in the order it got in at. Tsunade will call for you as soon as she gets the result and will help explain the report and the next steps for you and the father if the father wants to help out."

Naruto smiled softly, "I understand, thank you for taking the time to tell me all of this."

Shizune smiled, "I'll go get everything set up. Hashirama, do you want to be my aid in case I need you?"

Hashirama nodded in confirmation. Shizune asked Naruto to wait for a second and she left, quickly coming back with a hospital gown, "Put this on," she instructed and the two left to get the equipment sanitized. Tobirama tried to joke as Naruto got changed, "It seems you're going to get the ultrasound today after all."

Naruto laughed weekly at the attempt. Not long after they left, Shizune came back to escort the two, the patient and the patient's supporter, to the operation room that they had sanitized.

Naruto lied down on the table and Shizune gently opened a few buttons so she could get easy access to his stomach.

"This might be a little cold," she warned before applying a lubricating jelly over his stomach so she could freely move the transducer. An image on the computer blinked to life and Naruto gasped as he saw his child for the first time. Shizune searched until she found the best spot so she could see everything going on.

"Hold this right here," she ordered Hashirama and the Shodaime Hokage grabbed the transducer and held it in the spot that Shizune had indicated. The raven-haired woman cleaned up the excess gel and the area that Shizune was going to put the needle in was cleaned with an antiseptic before she gave him a local anesthetic injection to numb the area.

Naruto watched as she inserted a needle, watching the screen so she wouldn't hit the fetus or the fluid around the fetus. When the needle finally made it to the placenta, she attached a syringe to the needle and drew up a sample of the chorionic villus, well what Naruto assumed to be the chorionic villus as that was what the test was named as.

After the syringe was removed, Shizune pulled the needle out carefully, keeping a watchful eye on the screen. As soon as the needle was removed, Shizune put a bandaid over the injection site. 

The test took less than ten minutes to complete. Shizune shut the ultrasound machine off and put up the transducer before cleaning up the rest of the gel of Naruto's stomach.

She helped Naruto sit up and walked him back to the room Naruto had originally been in and left so he could change back to the clothing he had worn to the hospital. She came back after Hashirama had opened the door so she knew that they were done.

She smiled at the blonde, "You might want to take it easy for the rest of the day as after the anesthesia wears off your stomach may cramp up. If it gets too uncomfortable, take paracetamol at the recommended dose. If it gets worse, please come back as it may be a sign of a miscarriage."

Naruto nodded, "Thanks, Shizune-san."

Shizune giggled, "It's no problem, Naruto-kun."

Hashirama carried Naruto back to their home, the blonde dozing off almost as soon as his head hit his pillow. The two former Hokages chuckled at the blonde Uzumaki.

Orochimaru had stayed behind to ask Tsunade some questions about what to expect with the pregnancy, pregnancy risks, and vitamins and foods that will help out.

"Are you planning on asking him to marry you?"

"No, he just came out of an abusive relationship and needs time to heal before he even begins to think about marriage with me. Besides, I want to have our first date _before_ our wedding, not before."

"You're totally smitten by him, huh?"

"Yes, yes I am. I want the best for him and that's why I let him choose Sasuke. If I had known that Uchiha would hurt him so much, I would have tried to help him."

Tsunade scoffed and handed Orochimaru a book about pregnancy, "This should answer some of your questions. Feel free to write notes and questions to ask me, Shizune, or Sakura. I want you to talk to Naruto about helping to raise the child if it's yours."

"I'll help raise the child even if it _isn't_ mine."

Tsunade smiled, "Get out of here, you lovebird. Don't forget to talk to Naruto when you get the chance, he's going to need all the help he can get. I'm going to go ahead and tell Inochi that Naruto's pregnant, although I'll allow Naruto to tell the Yamanaka of any new developments and any decisions that he makes regarding the child and parenthood."

Orochimaru nodded and headed back to the home that all four men called their own. He wondered if they should try and get a larger home to accommodate the expected new arrival.

He saw Hashirama and Tobirama in the kitchen of the house, "How's Naruto?"

"He's sleeping. He'll sleep off the anesthesia and then sleep off the pain, so it might be tomorrow before he wakes up again," Hashirama supplied.

Orochimaru sighed, "He's going to be hungry since he hasn't had anything to eat since last night."

Hashirama nodded as Tobirama noticed the book in his hands, "What is that?"

"Oh, I asked Tsunade about everything to expect in pregnancy and she gave me this book and encouraged me to write down notes and any new questions that I might have. She also told me that I'm going to have to talk to Naruto about helping to raise the child as my child, regardless if I'm the father or not, which I will happily do."

Hashirama smiled at Orochimaru's dedication to the younger blonde.

"I promise to show him that he doesn't have to be afraid of being in a relationship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but the next chapter is going to be really long again. This is really just a filler chapter. So is the next chapter, but that doesn't really matter.


	6. Tell Me I Can Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is from the song Don't You Dare Forget The Sun by Get Scared. Can you tell my playlist by the songs I listen to? Lol.
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is over 28 pages long, wtf. (6526 Words)
> 
> Some news: I am currently working on planning the sequel to this: May We Try Again? It WILL be much lighter than this story, but it will be confusing at first. I'm working on a good description that WON'T give everything away.
> 
> That being said, I have no idea when this story will end. I know HOW it ends, I just need to plan out WHEN it happens, not necessarily in chapter numbers but in the timeline of this story.
> 
> I apologize for this chapter. It will not make sense timeline-wise. I made this while sleep-deprived so please don't be *too* mad at me, please?

Naruto woke up the next day nauseous. Naruto dry heaved since there was nothing left to throw up. He hadn't eaten the day before and the last time he ate was a snack the afternoon of Sasuke's marriage. The last meal he had was breakfast that same day. Orochimaru helped him again by rubbing the trembling boy's back.

"Here, drink this. You'll feel better," Orochimaru murmured after Naruto finished heaving.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, sipping the drink that the older male had given him.

"Peppermint tea. I hear it's great for upset stomachs," Orochimaru confessed.

"Thanks, Orochi," Naruto smiled.

Orochimaru smiled back at the sunshine blonde and stroked a whiskered cheek.

"If I could, I would kiss away all of your scars," Orochimaru whispered.

"For some reason, I get the feeling that you're talking about my mental scars and not my physical ones," Naruto mused, whispering as well.

"I am," Orochimaru confessed, leaning in to kiss the teen, who responded in kind.

"Your lips are so soft. I could kiss them all day," Orochimaru breathed out and Naruto smiled.

"I'm not stopping you."

The raven kissed the blonde a few more times, which time soft and sweet, not wanting to ruin the moment by becoming aroused. After a few minutes of kissing, Orochimaru stopped, pulling the cautious blonde into a hug.

"You know I'm always here for you, right?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes," Naruto agreed, starting to tear up.

"It's alright. I'm right here," Orochimaru soothed.

After a few moments, Naruto stopped crying and Orochimaru released him. Naruto began to eat slowly, careful of his still upset stomach. 

Orochimaru cleared his throat, nervous, "Ano, Tsunade wanted me to talk to you about helping raise the child as mine. I told her that I would do that regardless if the child is mine or not."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Just because," Orochimaru responded vaguely.

"That's not a good reason to be nice!" Naruto argued.

Orochimaru frowned, "Isn't it?"

Naruto was struck speechless by Orochimaru's flippancy. Before Naruto could argue his point further, Tobirama entered the bedroom, shielding his eyes jokingly, "Tsunade just told me that Sasuke has left with Sakura. They are using the rest of his redemption walk as a honeymoon."

Naruto frowned as he remembered one month before he broke up with Sasuke when he had escaped the apartment while Sasuke was gone. He didn't know why the specific memory came to the forefront of his mind, but he brushed it off as a good memory. _Everyone wants to remember everything good, right?_

**Flashback Warning: Suicidal ideation/ casual talks of suicidal ideation. Don't like it? Skip to END FLASHBACK. You have been warned.**

_Naruto couldn't sleep. He was scared that Sasuke would come home to punish him for something he didn't do, again. He had enough and left the apartment. He entered the Forest of Death and made his way to the house that Hashirama had set up nearly three months ago._

_He entered the house to see Orochimaru in the living room. He froze before apologizing for disturbing the older raven._

_"It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway," Orochimaru soothed and smiled at the younger blonde before leading the blonde onto the roof._

_"What keeps you up at night?" Naruto asked after a few minutes of silence._

_"Everything and nothing," Orochimaru vaguely responded. He didn't want Naruto to know that he still focused on when his feelings had been played with._

_"Sounds fun, I don't want to experience that," Naruto replied sarcastically._

_"What keeps you up at night?" Orochimaru asked, to get the topic off of himself._

_"Thoughts of Sasuke and Sakura. He actually thinks that I don't know that they are together. Reasons why I should just end my life. Stuff like that," Naruto casually responded and Orochimaru began to get worried for the blonde._

_"I may not know what to say about Sasuke and Sakura, but I do know that one reason that you shouldn't end your life is me," Orochimaru said, not realizing that he was admitting that he liked Naruto to the sometimes oblivious blonde._

_"You?" Naruto asked, confused._

_"Yeah... I'd miss our talks, miss telling you about your family, miss studying with you, miss you saying 'have a nice day at therapy' when I leave studying to go to therapy, and you saying 'welcome back' when I come back to study with you," Orochimaru replied, smiling to himself._

_"Wow..." Naruto breathed, speechless._

_"Yeah... so stay alive for tonight?" Orochimaru asked._

_"... Why not?" Naruto shrugged and went back inside for something to eat. Orochimaru finally noticed his bruise around Naruto's eye and gently grabbed Naruto's chin to see it better._

_"Who gave you that black eye?" Orochimaru asked, doing his best to keep his killing intent at bay._

_"Sasuke..." Naruto admitted._

_Orochimaru sighed, "What happened?"_

_"I came home from therapy late and he thought that I had skipped therapy to have sex... he didn't believe me when I told him that Inochi was just making sure that I wouldn't kill myself the second I got home," Naruto responded, letting Orochimaru hold his chin, but not looking in his eyes. His eyes were too kind for Naruto to handle._

_"It's that bad?" Orochimaru asked, his forehead wrinkling as he furrowed his eyebrows._

_"He makes me feel... belittled, humiliated without even trying! I'm considering breaking up with him and moving back in here," Naruto admitted, still not looking Orochimaru in his eyes._

_"We'd love to live with you again," Orochimaru confessed, finally letting Naruto's chin go._

_Naruto smirked, flicking his eyes to finally look back at the older man, "Oh, I know you do, you damn pervert."_

_Orochimaru laughed, "Was it that bad?"_

_Naruto shook his head, "I honestly would love to date you more than date Sasuke," he admitted, slamming a hand over his mouth as soon as the words left his mouth, eyes going wide._

_"I feel honored," Orochimaru whispered before removing the blonde's hands and kissing him._

_"You think_ this _will make me stay?" Naruto asked as his breath hitched._

_"I sure hope so, I am giving you my heart and soul," Orochimaru admitted, kissing the blonde's neck softly._

_"Me too..." Naruto admitted although he didn't want to._

_"So stay, even if it's just for tonight. I'll keep telling you that and maybe one day I won't have to," Orochimaru whispered before pulling away._

_"I'm sorry," Naruto apologized, not looking at his would-be lover._

_"I know. Come back?" Orochimaru asked, lifting Naruto's chin to see tears forming in the corners of his blue eyes._

_"I'll try," Naruto promised, even though they both knew that it was an empty one. One that he couldn't follow through._

**End Flashback**

Naruto looked up as Orochimaru began to get ready to leave the house for the day.

"It's okay. I understand. You can leave. They all do," Naruto whispered as he curled up into a ball. 

"I'm not leaving for good, brat. I'm just going to therapy. I'm coming home straight after unless work calls in. If that happens, I'll contact you to let you know," Orochimaru promised.

Naruto laughed a startled but bitter laugh, worrying the medic. _He's fine, he just needs some time to himself,_ a voice whispered. He chose to believe it for now.

The raven kissed the blonde softly before leaving the house. Not even five minutes later, an Anbu was at Naruto's doorstep telling him that Tsunade wanted to talk with him.

Naruto sighed, but was still in the Hokage Tower in under ten minutes, expertly dodging an empty sake bottle as he climbed in through the window. The two-man team that was getting their mission chuckled at the display.

"Ano, baachan are you busy? I can wait outside if you are, dattebayo."

Naruto dodged another sake bottle, "Gaki, stop calling me that." Naruto just giggled and the two Hokages, who were also in the room, shook their heads. "I needed to talk to all three of you."

Naruto straightened and became serious, which threw everyone off. He discreetly glanced at the two other people being spoken to. They were Kiba and Ino. They usually didn't get in trouble, so it was obvious that this was a mission.

He relaxed as soon as he straightened, again startling everyone, "Gaki, do you think you can handle an A-ranked mission?"

Naruto tilted his head, "But I am only a genin?"

Tsunade scoffed, "Only in name. You have the strength of a Jonin at least."

Naruto nodded and Kiba and Ino wondered why he was getting special treatment. Tsunade nodded back, "Your test is in the lab right now, so it shouldn't take that long to get the results back."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks, baasan."

Tsunade was startled at the respectful title but smiled back. _I like baachan much better than any other title, but I don't want to say it out loud_.

"Alright, your mission is in Suna. There are high-level bandits forming an army near the area and Gaara-sama has asked for help. The expected length of time is around two weeks, but pack for longer."

All three teens nodded and Ino spoke, "Who is in charge, Tsunade- _sama_?" She stressed the sama while looking at Naruto, who was talking to the Hokages. "Oi! Naruto! What are you doing talking to them like they are your friends?"

Hashirama, unsurprisingly, was the oneto speak up, "Naruto-kun _is_ our friend, Ino-chan. We are his guards for now while he guards Orochimaru-kun. We will stop being his guards when the villagers and Shinobi finally stop trying to kill him."

Naruto smiled in appreciation at his two friends and Tsunade cleared her throat, "To answer your question, Ino, you are in charge with Kiba as your right-hand man. Naruto is your back-up, but you _will_ need him."

Ino nodded, "We meet up at the gate in two hours. Pack for at least two weeks and say your goodbyes. Don't be late."

Kiba and Naruto nodded and the three of them scattered to go pack. Naruto had finished packing after only a few minutes and made his way to the hospital. The nurse at the station sneered at him, but let him pass to Inochi's office.

Naruto knocked on the door and waited for the faint, "Come in."

He walked into the calm room to see Orochimaru and Inochi looking at him. He blushed and bowed, "Sorry for disturbing you two, but I have a mission that will last at least two weeks. I wanted to tell you both goodbye before leaving."

Inochi smiled, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Orochimaru nodded at Naruto, a small smirk on his lips, "Thank you, Naru."

Naruto blushed at the nickname and bowed again before leaving for the academy. He got lucky, getting to the academy before the classes started. He smiled as Iruka got up and hugged him, "Konnichiwa, Iruka-sensei. I wanted to tell you about a couple of things. The first thing is that I'm leaving to go on a two-week mission with Kiba and Ino."

Iruka smiled and then frowned as he saw Naruto acting nervous, "What is the second thing?"

"Well, the second thing is actually a series of three things. I broke up with Sasuke-teme. I'm with Orochi-san. And I'm pregnant. We don't know whose child it is yet, but I hope it's Orochi's."

Iruka blinked and sat down, "Orochimaru? Why him?"

"Well... he makes me feel special and he's always been with me. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to be Sasuke-teme, h-he forced me to be in a relationship. I'm g-glad he married S-Sakura-chan."

Iruka smiled, "As long as he takes care of you, I approve of your relationship." Iruka frowned, "I'm assuming that you being a Jinchuriki makes it possible to be pregnant?"

Naruto nodded and Iruka sighed, "Are you going to keep them?"

Naruto nodded, "They are innocent and haven't done anything wrong, to be honest. Also, Orochi has promised to help raise them as his own, even if they are Sasuke-teme's."

Iruka smiled, "That's nice of him."

Naruto grinned and glanced at the clock. He bowed, "I must be going now, I don't want to be late as Ino's in charge."

"Take care, Naruto-kun."

\----

Three weeks later, Naruto looked over the battlefield tiredly. They had nearly failed the mission as Ino had been too prideful to order Naruto to help them out. Naruto had ended up disobeying her orders to save them.

Ino and Kiba were in the hospital now, healing up. The battle had been two days ago and, if everything worked out, Ino and Kiba were going to be released today. The sunshine blonde was nervous, fearing that they would yell at him for being disobedient.

\----

Naruto had been right. They had yelled at him for being disobedient. Well, Ino was the one yelling about his disobedience while Kiba was throwing him dark looks. Naruto kept silent through everything.

Ino didn't stop yelling until they made it back to Konoha. She had switched from disobedience to rudeness at some point, Naruto was too tired to care. He hadn't slept while he had watched over Ino and Kiba while they were in the hospital. He had also gone after the last of the bandits with the forces from Suna right before the two had woken up. They had left Suna immediately and hadn't stopped to rest at all during the run back.

Kurama was sleeping, getting back his chakra that Naruto had been forced to overuse. Luckily, Shukaku had also been awake and Naruto had been able to use his chakra as well, saving both him and Kurama. Shukaku was now roaring in his mind while Matatabi was trying to hold back the once insane raccoon from taking over Naruto and destroying everything.

Ino and Kiba stormed into the tower with Naruto behind them, dragging his feet. He immediately plopped down on the couch and dozed off to Ino screaming about him not being able to follow orders and being rude as Hashirama stroked his hair and whispered comforting words. Tobirama was nowhere to be found at the moment, probably keeping Orochimaru company.

Tsunade cut the screaming blonde off, "I _told_ you that you _would_ need him when I gave you this mission nearly three weeks ago. Besides all I heard is how Naruto made sure his teammates, who were on the brink of dying, and would've done so if he hadn't acted, _didn't_ die. In respect to Naruto's 'rudeness,' he is obviously exhausted. He has obviously helped you out during the two days you two were in the hospital. Gaki, what happened?"

Naruto groaned and opened an eye blearily, "While they were in the hospital, I helped the Suna forces track down the last of the bandits. I ended up nearly depleting Kurama's chakra and had to use Shakaku's chakra. By the way, the raccoon is screaming at me right now, so may I be excused to go rest?"

Ino and Kiba stared at Naruto in shock, not expecting that response when they had found him staring blankly at the battlefield, nearly unresponsive.

\----

Naruto groaned as he entered the apartment. Orochimaru was instantly up and helping him into their bedroom (i.e. Orochimaru's bedroom) and helping him get dressed into something more comfortable.

"I know that this might be a stupid question, but how are you?"

"I've had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with," Naruto groaned out, Shukaku still yelling his head off.

"And ice cream?" Orochimaru smirked as Naruto nodded.

"And ice cream. A gallon-sized tube of delicious frozen milk that makes your brain stop working if you eat it too fast," Naruto responded and Orochimaru laughed at the description of his favorite frozen treat. He kissed Naruto's forehead before getting up to grab the treat that he had gotten earlier that day. It was the same flavor as the one that he had gotten for Naruto before.

Naruto laughed when he saw the flavor and the two began to eat the ice cream while lying down on the bed. Naruto giggled as they talked softly and, all-too-soon, Orochimaru put up the ice cream treat.

Naruto didn't up look as his lover entered the room, too scared that he'd see Sasuke's face and then wake up and realize that this has all been a dream. A really long dream, but still a dream.

"Please look at me," Orochimaru whispered.

"I can't," Naruto whispered back.

"Why not?"

"Every time I look at you I see _him_ and it _hurts_ ," Naruto replied, his voice full of pain and even a bit of longing. Naruto _hated_ that he longed for Sasuke after everything he did to him.

"Please look at me," Orochimaru asked again like he didn't hear the blonde.

Naruto looked up angrily, but Orochimaru cut him off before he could speak, "I can't pretend that it doesn't hurt that you're still in love with him, but I can help you if you'll let me. I don't want to be a replacement, though."

"I can't promise you that..." Naruto admitted, hating himself.

"I know," Orochimaru confessed, smiling softly.

"Then why say that?" Naruto asked, confused.

Orochimaru stroked Naruto's cheek, "I just wanted you to know that I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Naruto's brows wrinkled in confusion for a second longer before he smiled at his lover and pulled him for a cuddle.

\----

To say that Tobirama was disappointed in Naruto's team was an understatement. Naruto was uncomfortable throughout breakfast, expecting the older albino to hurt him.

After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tobirama finally realized _why_ Naruto was so scared. Tobirama sighed, "I'm just disappointed, not mad."

"After what he did to me, disappointment is the same as being mad," Naruto commented dryly, though there was a hint of terror in his voice.

"That's fucked up. If it's any constellation, they have to do D-rank missions for a month."

\----

One month later, Naruto was called for by Tsunade. He made his way to the Tower with Orochimaru by his side. Hashirama and Tobirama were already waiting for them, as they were Tsunade's advisers.

Tsunade smiled softly when the duo finally entered, though she covered it up by throwing an empty shake bottle at them.

"Gakis! Stop using the window already!"

Naruto giggled, "But Baachan! It's fun dodging your bottles!"

Tsunade threw another empty bottle and Tobirama scoffed at their banter, "Please just tell the boy what you told us."

That got Naruto's attention and he turned his full attention at the now-serious Hokage.

Tsunade cleared her throat, "I have good news and I have bad news, which do you want first?"

"The good news," Naruto replied, without missing a beat.

"Your test results came in. The child is Orochimaru's."

Naruto sighed in relief, "And the bad news?"

"The council knows that you're pregnant with Orochimaru's child. They want you two to marry, with or without Naruto's consent."

Naruto gulped and glanced at Orochimaru, who had an unreadable expression on his face, "Are they going to allow us to court at all or do we have to marry right away?" Naruto asked, his voice a mere whisper.

Orochimaru briefly looked surprised, "Do you want to marry me?"

Naruto smiled bitterly, "I was hoping we could go on a few dates or even court before you asked me that question. I've been working up the nerve to ask if your offer for a date was still open."

Tsunade cleared her throat, "They have asked that you marry before summer, if possible. You can start planning for the wedding and even go on a couple of dates before the wedding."

Naruto nodded and Orochimaru smiled.

"Well, Gaki, it's been a month. Do you want to have your official ultrasound today or schedule it for another day?"

Naruto brightened up, "I can do it today. Do you have anything planned for today, Orochi?"

The raven smiled gently, "No, today is my day off. Do you want me to go with you?"

"Of course! The child is yours too, dattebayo!"

Orochimaru chuckled at his verbal tic, "Then I will come with you. Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?"

"Honestly? A girl. That way I can dress her up!"

Orochimaru chuckled at his enthusiasm and Tsunade smiled at the two lovebirds, "Alright gakis, let's get going."

Tsunade led the duo to the hospital and to a waiting Shizune. The younger woman smiled at the duo, "Is it time for your official ultrasound?"

Naruto nodded and she led them to the same operating room from a month ago.

Shizune and Tsunade left the room so Naruto could change in privacy. After Naruto was done, Orochimaru opened the door and Shizune and Tsunade came back in. Naruto opened the buttons in the same spot as before and Shizune smiled.

Tsunade was the one to apply the special lubricating jelly to his stomach this time as Shizune started the machine.

Orochimaru noticed that Naruto was nervous and he grabbed the blonde's hand, squeezing it to show his support. Naruto flashed the older raven a grateful grin and turned his attention back to the screen.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as the image of his child, _their child_ , blinked to life on the screen. The raven and blonde duo stared at the screen in silence and Shizune chuckled at the response. Most couples had the same reaction seeing their child for the first time.

At that moment, the child, who was _so tiny_ , barely at 6 inches long, moved and Orochimaru and Naruto had a brief glimpse of the child waving their arms. Naruto giggled at the sight of the wiggling child and Orochimaru chuckled.

After a few moments of watching the child wiggle and try and get comfortable, Tsunade spoke up, "It looks like you two are having a girl. Hold on while we try and calculate the due date."

Naruto grinned and Orochimaru pulled the blonde into a quick hug. They continued to watch the screen that their _daughter_ was on.

Shizune was the one to speak up next, "We believe that your due date should be sometime mid-September possibly in between September 16th to September 25th."

Naruto smiled at the news and waited for Tsunade to clean the gel off of his stomach and the two women to leave before turning to Orochimaru, "H-How do you feel about all this?"

Orochimaru searched Naruto's face before smiling, "Well, while I'm glad the child is mine, I would've preferred to have gotten you pregnant _after_ we married. I don't mind having a daughter and I would love to go ahead and go on that date if you wouldn't mind?"

Naruto grinned brightly, "Of course I wouldn't mind!"

Orochimaru copied the blonde's bright grin and helped to get the blonde into his original outfit, "Great! I know a great restaurant that we can go to. It's the Yakiniku Q, a BBQ place that also serves bread and fruits, though the selection _is_ quite small to choose from."

Naruto grinned, "I'm sure that it will be great, regardless of how small or big the selection is."

Orochimaru smiled as the two left the hospital, walking towards the selected date destination. Orochimaru reached the door first and opened it, bowing dramatically, "After you."

"Thanks, Orochi," Naruto replied, bowing back and giggling.

Orochimaru blushed when Naruto publicly used his nickname for the older raven and they picked a booth to sit in, getting comfortable, "Order your fill," Orochimaru ordered, a smile on his face.

"Can I?" Naruto asked hopeful eyes pointed to his date, his _boyfriend_ , no, his _fiance_.

"I wouldn't have said that if you couldn't," Orochimaru replied, smiling encouragingly at the blonde. He wasn't afraid of his appetite, he knew that Uzumakis were naturally big eaters and pregnant Uzumakis? Well, they were twice as hungry.

They both ordered quite a lot of meat, with a salad or too nearby with a couple of servings of bread.

Orochimaru caught Naruto glancing at some of his meat that Naruto had been unsure of ordering and laughed, "Try some," he offered.

"B-but it's what you ordered," Naruto objected, blushing at being caught eyeing someone else's food.

Orochimaru smiled, "I don't mind."

The rest of their lunch was silent, but comfortable, though that changed when Ino had spotted the blonde from where her team was sitting and had yelled at him for eating as much as Choji. They had finished their last order and left without saying a word, besides thanking the waiter for the food and their bill, of course.

They wandered Konoha, digesting their food, and feeling content with the silence. Orochimaru wanted to bring Naruto out of his depression that Ino yelling at him caused, but didn't know what to do until he saw a dance in full swing. It was an open attendance dance, so everyone had a right to join in, though Orochimaru and Naruto kept to the shadows.

Naruto was surprised when Orochimaru bowed and asked, "Can I have this dance?"

"I... don't know how to dance," Naruto admitted, ashamed of himself.

"It's alright, I'll teach you," the raven-haired man offered.

"... A-Alright. I've always wanted to learn how to dance," Naruto accepted and soon Orochimaru was leading him into a simple western-style ballroom dance called the Waltz.

Naruto smiled as the raven swung him around in a wide circle, "Where did you learn to dance?"

"When I was a Konoha Shinobi. There was a party being held and Tsunade and Jiraiya wanted to dance so they taught me."

"They taught you well," Naruto complimented.

After dancing for a couple of hours, they found themselves on the Hokage heads once more.

"Why choose me?" Naruto suddenly asked, curious as to why Orochimaru would like _him_.

"Well... I had heard from Sakura that you were skittish, which wasn't like you and I remembered that you had told me once that you didn't know anything about your parents except for vague hints that Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hiruzen-sensei gave you occasionally."

"That's not what I meant," Naruto interjected dryly.

"Your smile."

"Huh?"

"The smile you gave me when I told you those stories sitting on my old Sensei's head was so full of love and warmth that I couldn't help but want to keep it all to myself," Orochimaru admitted. "Look, I know we don't know each other that well, but I'm still worried about you. No one deserves to be alone. Especially not you."

"I've been alone all my life," Naruto admitted, shrugging Orochimaru's concern away.

"That's why I'm worried. Please let me help you?" Orochimaru asked, genuinely concerned for the blonde's mental health.

"Inochi can't," Naruto defended, standing up to go home.

"Do you let him?" Orochimaru asked, also standing up.

"... What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, but Orochimaru didn't answer. He wanted _Naruto_ to figure it out on his own.

**Dating Montage between Naruto and Orochimaru. Warning: Very fluffy and slight depression denial. This takes place for six months. They haven't married yet, that will come in the next chapter, so the council is** _**really** _ **annoyed at them (they wanted to marry after their daughter is born in fall).**

"Have a good day at work," Naruto called as the raven left for the hospital.

"You too!" Orochimaru called, a smile on his face.

"I saved a piece for you," Naruto shyly said as Orochimaru came in late from work.

"Thanks, Naruto," Orochimaru said, grateful that his fiance was so considerate.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Naruto muttered one night after Orochimaru had told him a story about his younger sister, who had died of an unknown illness.

"It doesn't really bother me anymore," Orochimaru shrugged nonchalantly.

"You don't have to lie to me...." Naruto whispered, slightly scolded the older man for lying.

Orochimaru chuckled bitterly, "I'm sorry. It's easier to say that it doesn't bother me than to admit that it still hurts."

"You can have half," Naruto offered, a small blush on his cheeks.

"Aw, so romantic Naru~" Orochimaru teased before eating the half of the muffin out of Naruto's hand, Naruto's blush deepening at the act.

"It reminded me of you," Orochimaru admitted as he handed the teen a glass fox ornament.

"But it's not broken?" Naruto asked.

"Neither are you," Orochimaru retorted and Naruto kept silent, wondering if he really _was_ broken or if it was just his depression telling him that.

"Take my jacket, it's chilly outside," Naruto offered, already shrugging his jacket off. It would be a bit small on the taller man, but it would keep him warm from the chilly wind.

"What about you?" Orochimaru asked as he hesitantly took the offered jacket.

"I'll be fine since I don't have to go anywhere today," Naruto appeased and they both laughed at the small jacket.

Naruto sighed as he entered his home, "Sorry, I'm late."

"Is everything alright?" Orochimaru asked, concerned for his sunshine blonde.

"Yeah...therapy took longer because I relapsed again," Naruto admitted slowly. "I haven't done anything, my depression just hit me really hard again."

"Well, I saved a place for you," Orochimaru said, smiling softly.

"Thanks, Orochi."

"I made your favorite," Naruto offered, trying to distract the raven from his never-ending hospital paperwork.

"You remembered?" Orochimaru asked, startled that Naruto would remember something so trivial.

"Of course!" Naruto replied with a giant grin that had Orochimaru joining in.

"No, no. It's my treat," Orochimaru denied as Naruto tried to pay for their food. They had gone back to the Yakiniku Q restaurant, the waiters enjoying the two as Naruto loved to talk and listen to the workers. The other patrons had slowly begun to see the two of them as non-threats to their existence and had begun to change the duo's lives for the better.

Orochimaru and Naruto both didn't need guards anymore, but they still lived together with Hashirama and Tobirama, whom Naruto had begun to call Hashi-san and Tobi-san. Hashi and Tobi were named Kiyoshi's -Naruto's unborn daughter- godfathers, while Tsunade was named Kiyoshi's godmother.

"Why would you want to do that?" Naruto asked. It has become a routine for them: go on a date, Orochimaru pays, Naruto asks the loaded question that always leaves everyone nearby reeling.

"Because I like you. Do I need another reason?" Orochimaru responded, causing the other patrons to chuckle at the man's naivety.

"Can I hold your hand?" Naruto asked shyly, Orochimaru had never said that he _couldn't_ ask to do that in public, but he didn't want to assume and get in trouble with the beautiful raven.

Orochimaru smiled fondly, "Of course, Naruto."

"You can borrow mine," Naruto offered as the raven came out of the shower only to find all of his clothes were dirty. Again.

"Are you sure? It looks a bit small for me," Orochimaru asked, trying to keep from smirking.

"I'm sure, besides, it'll look great on you!"

"You just want to check me out, don't you?" Orochimaru asked while smirking.

"Of course!" Naruto replied, smirking back.

"Come here. Let me fix it," Orochimaru ordered.

"Are we still talking about my necklace or are we talking about my heart?" Naruto asked coyly.

"Both if you want," Orochimaru whispered as he took the shattered necklace that caused the blonde such grief. It had shattered months ago, but Naruto had believed that he was unworthy of wearing it after it had broken for the second time.

"It's not heavy. I'm stronger than I look," Naruto retorted as he carried a tall stack of books into the classroom. He was annoyed that he still had to study while Orochimaru had already finished, but understood that their courses were _very_ different from each other.

"Are you sure? I know you're strong, but I don't want you to hurt yourself just to prove a point," Orochimaru responded, worried that the now six-month pregnant male was pushing himself.

"I mean... if you want to help, I don't mind," Naruto responded shyly, Orochimaru not recognizing the symptom of dependency.

Orochimaru smiled and grabbed half of the stack of books, Naruto sighing in relief.

"One more chapter," Naruto begged, yawning slightly.

Orochimaru laughed quietly, "At this rate, we'll finish the book before we fall asleep!"

Despite his retort, he continued to read to Naruto. They did, in fact, finish the book before they fell asleep.

"I'll walk you home," Orochimaru offered, bowing to the younger blonde.

"We live together," Naruto retorted, rolling his eyes fondly.

"I can still walk you home."

"Can I hug you?" Naruto asked, sniffling slightly. Ino had just found out that Naruto was pregnant and had called him a freak. Shikamaru and Kiba had been nearby, but Naruto hadn't waited for their responses and had gone home as quickly as he was able to.

"Of course, Naruto," Orochimaru said, opening his arms. Naruto was quick to fall into the arms he felt _safest_ in.

"Wait a minute... are you jealous?" Naruto asked, amused that his _fiance_ was jealous of his _abusive ex_. Sure, Naruto still had a small crush on the Uchiha, but he knew that he never wanted to go back to the raven, no matter what Sasuke said or did.

"Yes, although I know that we aren't officially together," Orochimaru sheepishly admitted.

"That's ok because I'm _never_ going back to that asshole. Besides, we're _fiance's_ , if that's not 'officially together,' I don't know what is," Naruto teased.

"I dreamt about you last night," Orochimaru whispered as he got ready for work.

"Sasuke said that and look how that ended up," Naruto replied bitterly.

"No... I dreamt that you were happy."

"We're in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Maybe I'll get sick and die," Orochimaru mused.

"No. I'll make sure you won't," Naruto snarled, startling both of them.

"Well, then we might as well continue cuddling," Orochimaru shrugged and pulled the pregnant blonde closer to his chest.

Naruto blushed lightly and Orochimaru cooed, "Aw, you're just so cute and innocent!"

Naruto's blush deepened and he hid his face as Orochimaru laughed.

"Take my seat," Orochimaru offered. A meeting was about to begin about the last trimester of Naruto's pregnancy and he could tell that Naruto was having trouble standing for long periods of time.

"I couldn't," Naruto tried to turn down the offer, but Orochimaru was having none of it.

"I insist."

"Why are you up so early?" Naruto asked as he carefully climbed onto the roof under Orochimaru's watchful eye.

"I couldn't sleep," Orochimaru admitted after Naruto was comfortable beside him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Naruto asked, unsure if the raven would even want his help or not.

"I keep remembering Kabuto and thinking about what I would've done differently if I had known what he was going to do."

"But you didn't and that's ok," Naruto whispered, trying to give him the same advice that Inochi had given him.

"Yeah... thanks, even though Inochi says that I needed to hear it from you," Orochimaru smiled and pecked the blonde's cheek.

"I saved a piece for you," Orochimaru called as Naruto came back from therapy late again. He was worried that the blonde was staying later and later, a voice telling him that he _shouldn't_ be staying so late because the blonde was _fine_.

"Thanks, Orochi," Naruto said, smiling through his sadness.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Naruto whispered to his daughter as he felt her kick around, Orochimaru's hand next to his. He didn't know whether he was speaking to Kiyoshi or Orochimaru, but he felt that it was the truth either way.

Orochimaru began to tear up and Naruto laughed softly, "Oi, why are you crying, dattebayo?"

The raven smiled through his tears, "Gomen, Naru. I feel the same way."

"I got you a present," Orochimaru called out one day, it was a month from the due date, September 25th.

"It's not my birthday though?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Do I really need to wait for your birthday to give you a present? Close your eyes and hold out your hands," Orochimaru ordered and Naruto slowly obeyed, nervous that he would do something like Sasuke did.

Orochimaru smiled as he placed an object in Naruto's hands, the blonde opening his eyes to confirm what he thought was placed into his hands.

"I-is this?" Naruto asked, almost not believing his eyes.

"Yes, I just finished fixing it last night," Orochimaru confirmed, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Is that why you couldn't sleep lately?"

Orochimaru nodded and yawned, causing Naruto to chuckle, "Then how about we go to sleep?"

"Mmm... you're warm," Naruto whined sleepily.

Orochimaru chuckled, "So are you, Naru-koi." Orochimaru began to get up but was pulled back down by his pregnant fiance.

"No, you can't get up! You're my prisoner today," Naruto declared, still half-asleep.

Orochimaru chuckled, "But I have work, Naru-koi."

"No! I want to cuddle with my teddy snake," Naruto whined, not willing to let the older man go.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "Teddy snake?" He could vaguely hear Tobirama trying not to die from laughter.

"Well, you aren't a bear!" Naruto retorted.

"You're so cute when you're half asleep like this..." Orochimaru confessed, kissing his forehead. He stealthily climbed out of his lover's arms and went to work.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Orochimaru said softly as they stood in front of Jiraiya's grave. They had visited his parents' grave earlier that day.

"Thanks, Orochi. That... means a lot to me," Naruto smiled as he talked silently to his former teacher.

"Watch your step," Orochimaru warned.

"Thanks, Orochi," Naruto flashed his fiance a grateful smile.

"Anytime."

"I'll wait," Orochimaru offered as he dropped the blonde off for therapy just to make sure Naruto was _really_ in therapy for three hours, not that he _didn't_ believe the blonde.

"You don't have to," Naruto tried to dissuade the raven, it wouldn't be comfortable waiting for him for three hours in the crappy lobby chairs.

"I want to," Orochimaru insisted.

"Look both ways," Orochimaru scolded.

"I know how to cross a fucking street," Naruto retorted, but he still did as Orochimaru instructed. 

Orochimaru smiled, "I know."

"Can I kiss you?" Orochimaru asked, scared of his fiance's answer since they hadn't kissed since they found out that they were being forced to marry by the council.

"You want to do that?" Naruto asked.

"Of course."

"Then you have your answer," Naruto answered, a small smile gracing his face.

Orochimaru kissed Naruto sweetly, trying to convey all his feelings, all his _love_ for the blonde in a single moment. All his _love_ for their unborn daughter.

"I think I might be falling in love with you," Naruto whispered when they parted. Orochimaru was struck speechless and after he just looked at the blonde in shock, Naruto shook the older man, "Orochi?" Naruto asked, scared that the man didn't really love him.

Orochimaru hugged _his_ blonde. Naruto was finally _his_ , "Thank you," Orochimaru whispered, overwhelmed that _his_ blonde _loved_ him.

"For what?" Naruto asked, confused as to why the man he loved was thanking him for falling for him, though if he was honest to himself, he fell for the raven over nine months ago, he was too scared to tell the man that.

"Nothing and everything," Orochimaru responded vaguely, which served to confuse the teen even more

"Well that's very specific," Naruto deadpanned.

Orochimaru just chuckled and kissed him once more, "I know, everything will make sense soon," was his only response.

**End Dating Montage**

A few days later after that incident, Naruto's water broke. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao, way to end a chapter.


	7. That's My Girl, In Your Head, They're Fighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title comes from two songs this time: That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony and Zombie from Bad Wolf. 
> 
> This chapter really gets the ball rolling. Sasuke and Naruto are going to have a clash at some point and Sasuke is still not going to understand until their last clash with each other. Please hold on as it's going to get dark fast again, although it's actually going to stay dark.
> 
> I do not know how many more chapters until the end, though I do know that it's probably not going to be more than twelve chapters again, as this was always going to be short yet dark.
> 
> Yes, I do bring in two of my OCs for the second book in this chapter. You'll see who they are later in the OC page of 'Can We Try Again?' Also, everything will make MUCH more sense later in 'Can We Try Again?' so please bear with any confusion. I can't say much without majorly spoiling both books, so please hold on a bit longer ^-^
> 
> Yes, Isamu and Akane will show up later in this story, though they WILL disappear at one point. This is not a lazy point of mine. As I said, it will make sense later on 'in Can We Try Again?' Please write down any theories you may have about who Isamu and Akane are and what they mean to Naruto.
> 
> SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT FOR THE ENDING OF THIS CHAPTER: Before you read this, here is a warning for the ending of this chapter: near the end of this chapter, Sasuke tries to hook up with Naruto, but Naruto stops Sasuke. They have a somewhat huge argument, somewhat small argument that ends with Naruto threatening to kill Sasuke. If this ever happens to you (someone tries to harass you either sexually or physically) PLEASE DON'T DO WHAT NARUTO DOES. Call the police and report the guy/girl (yes women can harass you both physically and sexually for people who did not know this). DO NOT THREATEN TO KILL SOMEONE AS YOU CAN AND POSSIBLY WILL GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW IF YOU DO. I do not condone this kind of behavior, even though I am writing about it, this is a fictional story and I by no means agree with any of the methods used in this book (therapy wise or otherwise). I will add a warning right before the whole argument so you guys can skip the rest of the chapter if you don't like that type of thing (I'm going to label it as Domestic Abuse).
> 
> If you like this chapter, please leave a vote and a comment!

Naruto held his newborn daughter, Kiyoshi, as Orochimaru cooed at her, "She's so beautiful!" Orochimaru whispered and Naruto smiled. The raven-haired man had been telling him how beautiful their daughter was for the past ten minutes.

Kiyoshi had pale skin and pale-black, almost dark grey, hair, though they didn't know if her hair would darken or lighten. She was the average weight and length, although she was a couple of weeks early.

Kiyoshi took that moment to open her eyes and Naruto and Orochimaru both gasped. Her left eye was a brilliant yellow, almost as bright as Naruto's hair, while her right eye was a royal blue.

They stared at her eyes and looked at each other, "She's perfect," they stated simultaneously.

\----

Naruto cooed as he played his daughter's arms and legs, doing the exercises that Tsunade had given him. He felt Tobirama's chakra enter the house and called out to the albino.

"Hello, Tobirama. You're home early. Does baachan need me?"

Tobirama chuckled, "You know Tsunade-chan well. Yes, she does, she wants you to also bring Kiyoshi-chan."

"I swear, if this is just an elaborate plot just to see her 'great-grandchild' again, then I'm retiring from being a Ninja and becoming a housewife," Naruto muttered.

Tobirama chuckled as Naruto put Kiyoshi in the baby carrier. Naruto had become _very_ protective of his daughter in the last month since the young child's birth. Tobirama attributed it to him having all the chakra beasts sealed within him.

They both set off at a fast, but still careful pace towards the Tower. Naruto arrived at the Tower in under ten minutes, only to see two of his least favorite people standing in front of Tsunade: Sasuke and Sakura. Though calling Sakura his least favorite person _was_ a bit rude as she had nothing to do with what Sasuke had done to him.

Sasuke eyed Naruto and noticed his differences almost immediately: his blonde hair was longer, his eyes were now a dull blue, he had softer muscles, silent, and most importantly he had a baby at his chest. He wondered what his current boyfriend had done to make him so sullen.

Tsunade eyed the blonde before sighing, "Sakura is pregnant, so Sasuke has come to drop her off, he will be leaving again in a few days. You will help Sakura out during her pregnancy."

"Why the baka?" Sakura asked, no malice in her voice. Her voice only contained genuine curiosity. She didn't know that he was Chunin Level and rapidly growing closer to Jonin Level with each passing day.

Tsunade sighed, "That child that he is carrying with him right now is his and he knows first-hand how to handle pregnancies."

"What would the dobe know?" Sasuke asked, condescendingly. Naruto glared at his three friends, who were glaring at the arrogant man.

"Considering he _was_ pregnant recently, quite a lot," Tsunade finally replied, venom dripping from her lips, though Sasuke seemed unaware of Tsunade's anger.

"Baachan," Naruto cut in softly before Sasuke could retort, "wouldn't it be better if you got Orochi-san or Shizune-chan to help Sakura-ch-chan out? They are medics and would be able to help her quicker in an emergency. Besides, Kiyoshi-chan is only a month old and Orochi-san, Tobi-san, and Hashi-san are all busy."

Sakura looked at Naruto in shock, she had been about to ask the same question, though without as many names and probably with a bit more formality than he had used. Sasuke just glared at his "boyfriend" for speaking up.

Tsunade sighed, "I asked them, but as you know as well as I do that Orochimaru and Shizune are too busy right now. Besides, you can heal her if you go into Sage Mode."

"Yes, but I don't know how Sage Mode chakra will affect her unborn child or even Kiyoshi-chan. I don't want to risk her child like that," Naruto retorted.

"Naruto, enough," Tsunade ordered, shocking Sakura and Sasuke, who usually heard her call the blonde 'brat.' Naruto shocked them by bowing to Tsunade, who looked at the blonde sadly. "You're in charge of her for now. Since the villagers have started to respect both you and Orochimaru, I don't see any reason why you can't help her out. I know that you don't care for Sasuke, but I didn't know that your animosity ran towards my apprentice as well."

Naruto stiffened, then sighed, "It doesn't. She did nothing wrong."

"Then it's settled, you'll take care of Sakura during her pregnancy."

Naruto bowed, "As you wish, baasan." Naruto turned his attention to the pink-haired girl beside him and bowed once more, "Hello, Sakura-chan. I'll be your personal at-home nurse while you are pregnant. I'll be coming to your house every day with Kiyoshi-chan unless her father or godfathers are available to watch her. If I am unavailable to fulfill my duties, I will immediately let you know."

Sakura and Sasuke were speechless by not only the formal way he spoke to Tsunade but also the formal way he spoke to Sakura and how he took charge of the situation despite his earlier hesitance. They were also stunned by the way he laid out what exactly he would be doing, almost like he had made the plan on the spot, though Sakura knew that he was just quoting what an at-home nurse says when they meet their clients for the first time.

Sasuke smirked when he saw the mop of _black_ hair, "Is that my child?"

Naruto froze and glared at Sasuke as cold as ice, "No, it's Orochi-san's. Orochi and I are engaged and are in the process of getting married."

"About damn time," Tsunade muttered.

"You know why we wanted to wait," Naruto reprimanded, miffed at her comment.

"Yes, yes. Tobi-san would you escort these three to the Uchiha Compound?" Tsunade asked.

Tobirama bowed and Naruto smirked, gaining a new empty sake bottle to his collection. He flicked his godmother off for throwing something at his 'precious cargo.'

When they finally made it to the compound, Naruto turned back to the married couple, only to see Sakura looking at Kiyoshi with curiosity, "How old is she?"

Naruto smiled shyly, "She's a month old. She was born a couple of weeks early."

Sakura grinned, "May I hold her?"

Naruto hesitated, glancing over at Sasuke before nodding, "...Sure! So this is how you hold a newborn...."

\----

The old Team 7 decided to go to Yakiniku Q. Naruto was nervous to go there, though he wouldn't tell anyone _why_ he didn't want to go, so that was where the group of five ended up. The group being five since Naruto brought Kiyoshi and Tobirama tagged along, much to Sakura's bewilderment.

"Hey, Naruto, how do you know Tobirama-sama and Hashirama-sama like friends?"

Naruto glanced at Tobirama, who nodded. The blonde turned his attention back to the pink-haired girl, "Well, Sakura-chan, I don't know if you remember, but Tobi-san and Hashi-san were assigned as my bodyguards the same day that I agreed to be Ochi-san's. That day was my birthday, also known as the Fox Festival. What not a lot of outsiders know, or even a few insiders in your case Sakura-chan, is that night is the infamous "fox hunt" thrown together by the drunk and grieving civilians and shinobi."

Sakura blinked, "How come you know all of this?"

Naruto smiled sadly, "I'm getting there, Sakura-chan. The purpose of the so-called "fox hunts" was to look for and maim the "fox demon" as much as possible."

Sakura furrowed her brows, "Fox demon? I never heard of such a thing, though my mom used to say something like that when I was younger. Still, she stopped after I became a genin."

Naruto became silent and Sasuke watched as Tobirama placed a hand on his shoulder, "I can take over if it's too much for you to handle. Inochi has stated that you shouldn't place _too_ much emphasis on your past."

Naruto shook his head, "Thanks, Tobi-san, but I've got it. I need to be the one to tell them."

Sakura tilted her head, "Tell us what?"

Naruto took a deep breath, "The 'fox demon' was none other than the nine-tailed Jinchurichi."

Sakura gasped while Sasuke narrowed his eyes, Naruto ignored them and continued, "Every year, except for the three years before the war, on my birthday, the villagers would always chase me into the Forbidden Forest, where I'd wait out the villagers. On my last birthday, I was kidnapped by an ex-Anbu. You wouldn't have known him. By the time Orochi-san, Tobi-san, and Hashi-san found me, I had already killed the traitor."

Sakura looked at Naruto with devastation in her eyes, while Sasuke glared at him. _He's a good story-teller that's for sure, no way that had happened! And I can't ask the men he's living with since they're in on it_.

"Luckily, the villagers have begun to see that I am not a threat and have started to accept me in stores now. I can now not depend on Henges and other people to buy food and clothes and other supplies for me. I also have made some Chunin friends, especially the ones in the new Team 7. Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino are really great friends too after they stood up for me!"

Sakura grinned, then frowned, "But how did you get to be so intimate with them?"

Naruto blinked, then chuckled, "That didn't happen until after we found out I was pregnant with Orochi-san's daughter. Orochi took me out on a date and Ino said some really hurtful things to me. When Tobi-san and Hashi-san found out, they went out of their way to make sure she understood not to treat a fellow shinobi like she did and made sure I was OK. The same thing happened when she learned I was pregnant. I'm pretty sure she's the reason why I didn't leave my house until I went into labor. Tobi-san and Hashi-san spent a lot of their free time with me and we grew close friends. Even though all four of us don't live together anymore, we still try and hang out on our days off."

Sakura beamed, "I'm glad you have such supportive friends!"

Naruto beamed back and realized that they had finally reached the restaurant. Sakura watched in bemusement and Sasuke in disgust when Tobirama opened the door for Naruto.

"After you, My lady."

Naruto flipped his hair, playing the drama queen perfectly, "Hell yeah I'm your lady!"

Sasuke could hear the patron's and staff's chuckles and became embarrassed for the duo, although he could hear Sakura chuckling at the sight in front of them.

The staff, still chuckling at Naruto's antics, began to take their orders, which was big with Naruto eating with them. Sasuke stared at the blonde in distaste, while Sakura and Tobirama chuckled like they were in on a joke that he wasn't aware of.

Midway through the meal, Ino made her presence known once more.

"Oi, baka! Stop eating so much! It's why you got so fat recently! Oh, wait, you can become pregnant? Well, that makes you even more of a freak!"

Before Ino could say anymore or Naruto retaliate, Sakura stood up abruptly, "How about you mind your own damn business for once, Ino-pig! Honestly, I'm gone for almost a year and you become a bully! You should be ashamed of yourself for saying such things to such a sweet and caring guy as Naruto. For your information, the reason why he eats a lot is due to his chakra reserves being several times larger than someone his age, making his metabolism twice as fast! Don't even get me started on what having a tailed-beast living inside your chakra stream will do to your chakra and metabolism! And _nine tailed beasts_? Well, that'd be a nightmare for any living being! He naturally _needs_ to eat more than a regular person so his body doesn't collapse from malnutrition!"

Naruto and Ino both looked startled by the information, though Naruto hid it better than Ino.

Sakura bowed to Naruto, "Gomen*, Naruto, for yelling about your health and a few your clan secrets, but I couldn't let Ino keep talking to you like that."

Naruto's eyes widened and he smiled sweetly at his first crush, "It's ok, Sakura-chan. I figured it was about time that Ino got shown her place. If you hadn't, I would've. And my methods... would've been a bit different than yours."

Sakura nodded and a staff member bounced up to their table, "Hello, Naru-chan~"

"H-hello Isamu-kun. How is Akane-chan?"

The blue-eyed raven-haired boy that had greeted Naruto grinned, "She's doing much better! She's still a bit weak, but she can move her limbs now."

Naruto grinned, "That's great! Oh! Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, this is Isamu-kun. He's around our age and a foreign shinobi who has been approved to live here. His girlfriend, Akane, is receiving medical care from baasan."

Isamu bowed to the two new faces, "It's a pleasure to meet you two. Naru-chan speaks highly of you both, especially you Sakura-chan."

Both Naruto and Sakura flushed when the foreign Shinobi said that. Sasuke grew increasingly irritated that his "boyfriend" was receiving better attention than he was. He looked Isamu up and down, disdain at the Shinobi's strange fashion filling his face, "I would kick you out of the forces before you even began if you showed up to work looking like that."

Isamu indeed had a strange fashion, often wearing kimonos or even dresses and high heels. He also wore makeup with his hair long and tied back neatly in a high-half ponytail that reminded Sasuke of a particular blonde arsonist from the Akatsuki that he had unintentionally killed, though his bangs covered his right eye instead of his left eye.

Before Isamu could retort, Sakura punched her husband, "Shanora! You don't just say that because of how someone looks! You never know what his village's customs are or how they traditionally dress!"

Isamu chuckled, "Arigato**, Sakura-chan, but my clothing choice is a bit odd even for my village. I can assure you, Sasuke-san, that I can fight in this kimono as easily as you can fight in your chosen outfit."

Sasuke hummed and then ignored the rest of his group, feeling as if they were all against him.

A week later, Sasuke left and Sakura cornered Naruto, "Why did Sasuke ask if the baby was yours."

Naruto sighed, he had known that this question was coming, but he had hoped that the pink-haired girl would've forgotten that by now. It was clear that she hadn't, "That's not my story to tell, It's Sasuke's. Don't worry about it for right now, worry about your health and your unborn child's health. If I told you about what happened, you might stress out and lose the baby, which would be devastating. I should know, it almost happened to me, Kurama just barely managed to save Kiyoshi."

Sakura slowly nodded, "Alright, I'll wait until after my child is born to ask Sasuke about what happened."

Naruto nodded, then hesitantly added, "No matter what he tells you, remember this: He has always loved you. Also, if you don't like his story or believe he isn't telling the whole truth, you can go to Orochi-san, baasan, Inochi-san, Tobi-san, Hashi-san, or even me to get the rest of the story from my side. Don't tell us what he told you so you don't feel like we're changing our story to go against his."

Sakura nodded, "I'll keep that in mind, Naruto-kun!"

\----

A few months later, Sasuke came back to Konoha, for good. He went straight to his home instead of reporting to Tsunade like he was _supposed_ to do. This resulted in him startling his wife, Naruto, Naruto's daughter, and his old sensei.

Sakura stood up slowly, "Sasuke! I didn't know that you were coming home so soon! Have you reported to Tsunade-shishou yet?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, I wanted you to be the first to know. I'll get going."

Sasuke left a pale Naruto and an angry Orochimaru. Naruto stood up slowly, "Gomen, Sakura-chan, I need to leave."

Sakura smiled softly, "That's alright, Naruto-kun. Are you going to make sure Naruto-kun and Kiyoshi-chan get home alright, Orochimaru-san?"

Orochimaru smiled, "How many times do I have to tell you? Please, call me Orochi-san."

Sakura smiled, "Gomen, Orochi-san."

Orochimaru shook his head, "It's alright. But anyway, yes, I will. I will also make sure Naru-chan is alright."

Sakura smiled, "Alright, take your time. I believe Sasuke is going to come straight home after he finishes his report."

Orochimaru led Naruto home and Naruto went straight to sleep, dreaming of a Konohaless Sasuke. The next day was filled with Naruto going on a short mission and Orochimaru going to work. Shizune watched Sakura with Kiyoshi.

Naruto was the first one to come home, although Orochimaru was supposed to be home before him. Naruto sighed, "He's working a double shift again, isn't he?"

An hour later, Orochimaru finally came home. "Sorry, I'm late," Orochimaru called out.

Naruto smiled, "Work that bad?" He asked, already preparing for the man's answer.

"Yeah...Sakura called in sick because she had morning sickness again," Orochimaru admitted.

Naruto fell silent, his mood falling almost instantly.

Orochimaru noticed Naruto's foul mood and sighed, "Sorry for bringing him up, Naruto."

"It's fine, I saved a place for you."

"Thanks, Naruto," Orochimaru smiled.

**Warning: This starts a bit of "Domestic Abuse." I call it this because Sasuke believes that Naruto is still his boyfriend but still verbally abuses him and even tries to sexually harass him. Like I said in the introduction above, if this ever happens to you, please call the police and report the other person. Especially if you feel that you're in danger. There is also a threat to kill someone. If you don't like any of this, skip to the next chapter.**

A few days later, Sakura was working at the hospital with Orochimaru, and Naruto was at home with Kiyoshi, playing with her. Sasuke decided to drop by uninvited.

Naruto heard someone knocking on his door and answered it, immediately regretting it when he saw Sasuke. Sasuke let himself in the small house, ignoring Naruto's glare.

Naruto sighed as he saw Sasuke sit beside Kiyoshi and went to put Kiyoshi down for a nap. After a few minutes of silence, Naruto finally asked the question that had been on his mind ever since Sasuke's wedding, "Why did you leave me?"

"Because I wanted to," Sasuke replied, shrugging.

Sasuke smirked before placing a hand sneakily on Naruto's thigh and Naruto slapped the hand away, "Don't do this here. In fact, don't do this ever."

Sasuke frowned, "Why not? You're my boyfriend."

"You're married!" Naruto retorted, scowling.

"So? I can do what I want when I want," Sasuke replied, trying to place his hand on Naruto's thigh, only for it to be slapped away again.

"You've got to be kidding me! You leave me, marry _her_ , have a _child_ , and then you expect me to want to go back to you?" Naruto hissed at his ex-boyfriend. "I was doing fine. Really, and then you waltz back in like you didn't break my heart," Naruto admitted, trying not to break down like he usually did when he thought of what had happened.

"You make it sound like I loved you," Sasuke sneered, glaring at the blonde beside him who wouldn't let him have his way like he used to.

"You know, it hurt when I realized that you're not in love with me. But nothing can compare to the pain I felt when I saw you fall in love with her," Naruto mused and Sasuke's irritation grew.

"I was already in love with her," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"Exactly," Naruto said and Sasuke finally realized that Naruto had _known_ that Sasuke had been in a relationship with Sakura, before the wedding day.

"You left without saying goodbye... I hate you for that," Naruto said, bringing Sasuke out of his thoughts. _Where the hell did that come from_ , Sasuke thought.

"I did say goodbye!" Sasuke retorted.

"Not properly. You said goodnight and you never came back, so I moved back in with Orochi-san, Hashi-san, and Tobi-san. I waited for a week before I moved out. I loved you and then you were gone... and I knew I lost you," Naruto corrected and Sasuke grew irritated once more.

"Stop being so overdramatic," Sasuke sneered.

"Get out of my house before I decide that killing you sounds like the best idea I've ever had," Naruto hissed out, standing up and going to check on his daughter.

Sasuke scowled as he left the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Gomen= Gomen is a causal way to say "I'm sorry" in Japanese. You can see this word in a lot of Naruto fanfiction or even other Japanese-based fan fiction and stories. Gomen is the romaji and is usually spelled using the Hiragana alphabet if I have been taught correctly, I'm not quite sure if it has a Kanji or not. Gomen'nasai is more formal and used in more business situations. There is also Sumimasen, but that's used when you're going through a crowd and you keeping bumping into people
> 
> **Arigato= Arigato is a casual way to say "Thank you" in Japanese. As with Gomen (I'm capitalizing it so it's easier to spot), Arigato is in a lot of Naruto fanfiction or even other Japanese-based fan fiction and stories. Arigato is the romaji and is usually spelled using the Hiragana alphabet if I have been taught correctly, I'm not quite sure if it has a Kanji or not. Arigato'gozaimasu is more formal than arigato and Domo'arigato'gazaimasu is even more formal than both of them.


	8. Who Is It I'm Supposed To Be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title comes from the song Who Am I? by Besomorph and RIELL. I think I'm having an existential crisis ^-^;
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains another rape scene, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and finally a murder attempt. In that order. I will put up a warning before the second half of the story, so if you don't like that type of thing please skip to the next chapter. This is the last time Sasuke rapes Naruto, but not the last time that he abuses him or tries to kill him. A warning that I want to say is that the next few chapters are going to get slowly more intense, or as intense as I can make them (which isn't that much, but for me, it's pretty intense). The ending is coming up pretty fast, so please buckle your seat belts, it's gonna be a rough ride to the end.
> 
> This is not the end of the story just yet, so please don't comment anything about Naruto dying just yet.... you can do that later on ^-^
> 
> Anyways, if you like this chapter, leave a vote and a comment!

Sakura had had enough. She had asked Sasuke about what had happened and she was angry. Her husband had told her, nearly on the verge of tears, of how Naruto had forced himself on him. 

Even though she was angry, she remembered what Naruto had told her.

**Flashback**

_Naruto looked at her very seriously, "No matter what he tells you, please remember this. He loves you and always will. If you don't like what he says, you can go to Orochi-san, Baasan, Tobi-san, Hashi-san, or even me to get our side of the story. Don't tell us what he said so it doesn't seem like we fixed our stories to contradict his."_

_Sakura was shocked for a couple of seconds, not understanding what he was saying. What did he mean? What had Sasuke done?_

_She had smiled brightly, anyways, "Alright!"_

**End Flashback**

_Is this what Naruto had meant?_ Sakura mused. She wanted answers, so she would ask Naruto his story, then her shishou, individually of course.

She ran to Naruto's house and banged on the door. Naruto was quick to answer the door, "Sakura-chan! What's the matter?"

"Naruto-kun, please tell me where we can speak _in private_."

Naruto's eyes widened, "O-of course! Wait right here while I tell Ochi-chan where I am going."

Naruto disappeared and Sakura fought the urge to giggle at Naruto calling the older sannin _chan_ like he was a young girl that he had a crush on. It was no secret that the two of them loved each other deeply and she was happy for them. She was.

_Then why did she want to strangle both of them so much when she learned what they did to Sasuke-kun? Could Sasuke-kun be lying?_

Naruto came back to the door, "Alright, Sakura-chan, I'll bring you to the room where I study at the Academy. I'll also ask Iruka to not let anyone bother us."

Sakura nodded and they ran off to the academy. True to Naruto's words, Naruto asked Iruka to keep watch to make sure nobody bothered them for at least thirty minutes.

They entered a classroom much like the one they had been in before they became genins. Sakura's anger slowly was replaced with curiosity, "What are you studying for?"

Naruto smiled, "Baasan is allowing me to study for Jonin level. By studying and passing the written Chunin and then Jonin exams, I could become a Jonin without taking the physical tests. It will take longer since I had to take a refresher Genin course. I'm a Chunin right now. It should take less than two more years until I make it to Jonin."

Sakura grinned, "That's so cool!"

Naruto's smile fell, "I'm assuming that you've spoken to Sasuke about why he asked if the child was his?"

Sakura nodded, "I want to hear your story, then I'll ask for Tsunade's side since she _has_ to be impartial."

Naruto smiled weakly, "That's a good idea. Arg, where to start? Well, you remember when Sasuke first went on his redemption walk after the war ended?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, because he told me that he needed to do that himself and that I didn't need to go... something about it affecting someone? It's been a few months, so I don't remember exactly what he said."

Naruto nodded slowly, "Well when he came back a month later, I went to the Uchiha Compound with him to catch up. Everything was going fine... until he found out that I had the two former Hokages as bodyguards and began to question me how I managed to get them to help me out. I told him the truth, that I was in constant danger, but he didn't believe me and kept calling me a man-whore and disrespecting me, Tobirama, and Hashirama. He also didn't believe me when I was a virgin in both aspects since I had lived with Ero-sennin for three years."

Sakura looked ill but nodded her head for Naruto to continue.

"I went to leave, but Sasuke physically stopped me. He kept saying that I was a man-whore and then started to molest me. I managed to tell him that I was still a virgin and he smiled at me sweetly and told me that he would take care of me. In a moment of lust and only slight arousal, I consented, even though I truly had gotten over my crush on him. We had sex and Kurama healed me so I could leave. The next day, Sasuke forced me to go on a date with him, threatening to release the tailed beasts if I didn't and I went on the date. Instead of going to eat, he took me to an apartment and... forcibly had sex with me."

Sakura swallowed, her anger towards Naruto long gone. She looked up to see Naruto regard her with cold, lifeless eyes, "There's more isn't there?"

She almost regretted asking that question when Naruto nodded, "Yes, there's a bit more. We dated for about two months and kept our relationship under lock and key. He set rules that, if broken, he would sexually punish me. After we unofficially broke up, I went back home and finally understood what he had done to me was wrong and could be lawfully punished. I never pressed charges against him because I didn't want to hurt you."

Sakura was silent for a moment, "Please come with me when I go to Tsunade-shishou. I'll ask for her story and you can wait outside. After she's done, I'll ask you to come back in to talk about what you said. Depending on what Tsunade-shishou says depends on whether I can remain your friend or not."

Naruto bowed to Sakura deeply, "I am grateful that you even listened to my side of the story, Sakura-chan. I do hope you get the answers you are looking for, whether or not you want to hear them."

Sakura smiled, "I would always listen to your side of the story, now let's go to Tsunade-shishou."

They left the Academy, Naruto making sure to tell Iruka where they were headed so he didn't think that the door still needed to be guarded. The run to the Tower was silent and tense, not a word spoken between the woman and man.

Naruto, true to his word, waited outside the office as Sakura went inside to talk to Tsunade.

"Hey, Tsunade-shishou, are you busy right now?"

Tsunade looked up from the papers that she was signing and frowned at Sakura's expression, "Do you want to talk to me privately?"

Sakura nodded and Tsunade ordered everyone out of the room and quickly set up the privacy seal, "What's the matter Sakura?"

Sakura took a deep breath, "I want to know, from your impartial perspective, what happened during the three months before my wedding."

Tsunade sighed, "I don't know much besides what Naruto, Tobirama, and Hashirama reported. I wanted to make sure that Naruto was telling the truth and asked him if he could have Inochi, his therapist, look through his memories during that three month time period. Naruto hesitantly agreed and I'll admit that I thought that he had been lying."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat, "W-what did Inochi find?"

Tsunade sighed again, "What Naruto had told us was true: Sasuke had forced Naruto into a sexual relationship, always threatening to turn the tailed beast loose if he didn't agree. What he hadn't told us, or you if I'm guessing correctly, was just how much Sasuke destroyed his will to live. I wanted to put him in the psychiatric hospital here in Konoha, but Orochimaru insisted that he was fine, just needed a few days to himself and he'd be his old self. Well... it's been 10 months. Soon, Naruto is going to be turning 18 and he's never going to be the same as he was. I tried telling Orochimaru that, but he refused to listen to me."

Sakura's eyes widened, "Oh." She fell silent, "I'm going to let Naruto in, is that alright?"

Tsunade nodded and Sakura let the blonde boy in. Naruto smiled in Sakura's direction, his eyes downcast, "Did you find the answers you were looking for, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura laughed bitterly, "Yes, Naruto-kun."

Tsunade frowned, "Do you still want to be married to Sasuke-kun, an unconvicted rapist?"

Sakura sighed, "Yes. I do not want my daughter to grow up fatherless. Besides, he truly does love me and would be devastated if I hated him, he'd probably try and kill Naruto for speaking the truth about what happened." Sakura glanced over to the boy beside her, "Also, I'll try and do my best to keep him away from you as much as possible. It's hard with Sarada being a newborn and having to take care of her."

Naruto grinned, "Thank you Sakura-chan!" His grin fell into a determined stare and his voice became demanding, "Sakura-chan, you must promise me not to beat yourself up if Sasuke hurts me again. If you start doing that, seek professional help from Baasan and Inochi-san so you don't become depressed."

 **Timeskip: Four Months** **Later**

**Warning: This starts the rape scene. Right after this is an intense argument that can be labeled as verbal abuse, with a brief physical abuse scene. After a brief pause, the murder attempt takes place. Like I said in the introduction: If you don't like this, skip to the next chapter.**

Sasuke was having a bad day. He wasn't allowed to be a Jonin just yet since he hadn't passed the Jonin test. He was smarter, more active, and more loved than Naruto, so studying like Naruto was doing wasn't an option for him. He was irritated, to say in the least.

He found himself standing in front of Naruto's house. He knew that Orochimaru wasn't due home for another two and a half hours, more than enough time to have some fun with his boyfriend.

He knocked on the door harshly, Naruto coming to the door almost instantly, "What are you doing here? Are you drunk?" Naruto hissed out.

"I know you still love me," Sasuke slurred trying to get inside the apartment and failing.

"No, I don't. The worst part isn't that what you did to me still hurts, no the worst part is that it took one week before I was in someone else's arms. The worst part is that it took a month before I was ready to go on a first date with him," Naruto admitted, accidentally letting his guard slip. He cursed when Sasuke managed to barge into his home.

"Sasuke, leave. You've had a rough day. Go home to your wife and release your tension with her," Naruto tried to reason with Sasuke, but the man frowned.

"I don't want to hurt her."

Naruto smiled softly, "You love her, don't you?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Was that ever a question?"

Naruto scoffed, "After what you said to me during the three months that we were together, I started to believe that you were capable of loving anybody."

Sasuke scowled, "That's not a nice thing to assume, dobe."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Sasuke. Just leave and go to a brothel."

Sasuke shook his head, "You... you never had a problem with it before."

"That was before you married Sakura. I don't want to have sex with a married man unless the said man was married to me, which you aren't by the way," Naruto retorted, nearly snarling at the raven-haired man.

"Sakura is mine to use how I want when I want," Sasuke commented, momentarily confusing Naruto.

"She's not yours," Naruto replied slowly, trying to see how gone Sasuke really was.

"Yes, she is and so are you," Sasuke insisted.

"We are not possessions, we are living beings!" Naruto yelled, growing scared of his former friend.

"That I can claim," Sasuke replied while pushing Naruto against the nearest wall. He breathed against Naruto's neck, and Naruto shivered in disgust, "We can either do this the easy way...." Sasuke trailed off to place a gentle kiss on Naruto's neck. "Or the hard way," Sasuke stated before biting him hard where he had kissed him.

Naruto whimpered, he _really_ didn't want to do this with Sasuke, but Sasuke was stronger than him when Naruto didn't call any of the tailed beast's chakra.

Naruto weakly tried to push the slightly older male off of him, who just growled, "Hard way it is, then."

Naruto's eyes widened, "No!" He yelled, trying to escape Sasuke.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes, "If you don't want to do this the hard way, then just let me do what I want. Don't make me angry and I'll be gentle."

Tears fell down Naruto's face as he nodded, already hating himself. Already feeling dirty, even though he knew that he wasn't to blame for what was going to happen.

Sasuke smiled sweetly as he wiped away Naruto's tears with his thumb, the blonde unconsciously leaning into his gentle touch. Sasuke kissed Naruto briefly but passionately.

"Where do you want to do this?" Sasuke purred into Naruto's ear and the blonde whimpered again.

"M-my bedroom."

Sasuke smiled against Naruto's neck before kissing it, "And if I want to fuck you in your own kitchen?"

Naruto whimpered as he held on to the Uchiha's shoulders, "I-I thought that i-it would be easier to c-clean up i-if we did it in m-my room."

Sasuke hummed, "Alright."

The raven kissed Naruto's neck before commanding him to jump. Naruto obeyed, Sasuke catching him and pulling him in for a kiss as he started to carry the blonde to the bedroom.

Sasuke laid Naruto gently on the bed, still kissing him. He wasted no time taking both their shirts off, Naruto looking away in embarrassment. Sasuke grabbed his chin and roughly forced Naruto to look at him, "Look at me, dobe."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, trying not to cry and Sasuke smiled, "That's a good boy, keep looking at me. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Naruto blushed and Sasuke chuckled, kissing Naruto again, "Take off your pants, dobe."

Naruto's blush deepened and he fumbled to obey, trying not to make Sasuke impatient. Sasuke smirked as he also worked to get his own pants off. Naruto gulped and kept his focus on Sasuke, despite wanting to hide from him.

Sasuke smirked and yanked their boxers off and Naruto fought not to close his legs in embarrassment, which was what his instincts were telling him to do. Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening his eyes once more and staring at his former friend.

Sasuke kissed Naruto, this time grinding his hips down onto Naruto's, causing the blonde to gasp and squirm, clawing at the raven above him. Without giving Naruto time to adjust, Sasuke thrust his length into him, causing Naruto to cry out in pain.

"Sa-Sasuke! It h-hurts!"

Sasuke growled as he started to thrust into Naruto, "Don't complain, slut."

Naruto whimpered but otherwise didn't say anything as Sasuke's thrusts became rougher. He had _known_ that Sasuke wouldn't go easy with him.

He was just there as a stress reliever since he had fast healing abilities. He was just someone to use and then throw away. Why had he believed that Sasuke ever loved him? He will never be loved by anyone since he was a _monster_ , a _punching bag_ , a _slut_. If he didn't want this to happen, he would have tried to fight off Sasuke more than he had.

Did that mean that he was a slut, that he _wanted_ this to happen, or did it mean that no matter what Sasuke did to him, he would never try to harm him? Naruto had always viewed him as a brother, then a crush, then a partner.

_When did he become his enemy?_

Before Naruto was ready, Sasuke released inside of him. Sasuke grabbed his clothes and made a hasty retreat into the bathroom to clean himself off.

Kurama immediately started to heal Naruto, no words were necessary between the host and demon.

Sasuke came back into the room as Naruto was putting his pants on. "Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto asked quietly as he pulled his shirt on.

"I didn't need to," Sasuke shrugged.

"I was your _boyfriend_ , of course, you needed to tell me if you were in another relationship!"

"You were only a cum dump and we both know it," Sasuke sneered.

Naruto growled, "Get out of my house." Naruto walked out of the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen.

"Hear me out," Sasuke pleaded, following the blonde.

"Why the hell should I listen to _you_?" Naruto snarled, catching the raven off-guard.

"Can you just kiss me? One last time? That's all I ask," Sasuke asked.

Naruto scowled, "You say that like I actually liked _kissing_ you before. I didn't. And need I remind you that you're married? You seem to keep forgetting that. There is no _us_ , there never was."

"...You thought _this_ was real?" Sasuke asked, bewildered.

"YES! You told me that you _loved_ me! How else am I to take that?" Naruto yelled, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

Sasuke's eyes widened, "I swear I'll do things differently this time."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but you are one, already married with a wife and a newborn child, and two, I've moved on to someone who actually gives a shit about me. They understand me and I understand them. Besides, I don't believe you. You never once showed me any reason to, anyway," Naruto replied, aghast that Sasuke would ask for another chance after everything that he did to him.

"I'm different now, I swear," Sasuke pleaded.

"Are you still married to her?" Naruto asked, his voice disbelieving.

"Yes," Sasuke admitted.

"Then I don't want to hear it, because it's just another lie coming out of your lips."

"Why are you so stubborn?" Sasuke yelled.

"Oh, _I'm_ the stubborn one? What about you never taking a fucking 'no' for an answer, that's pretty damn stubborn in my books!"

"It wasn't meant to go this far. I swear," Sasuke pleaded and Naruto glared at him uncaringly.

"Then why didn't you say so? Letting you go was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"I'm sure it wasn't as hard as you're making it out to be," Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up. Are you ever going to listen to me?"

"Are you ever going to say something worth listening to?"

"You know I have feelings for you. You knew and yet you played with my heart instead of letting me down right away. You made me believe that you loved me but all you were doing was trying to rebuild the Uchiha Clan, right?" Naruto plowed on, determined to try and get Sasuke to see what he had done to him.

"Please forgive me," Sasuke pleaded.

Naruto glared at the raven, "I can't forgive you."

"I'll make you," Sasuke stated as if it was a fact. As if he could, in fact, make Naruto forgive him.

"Then leave her. At home. And don't return to her," was Naruto's cold response.

Sasuke's blood ran cold, "I can't do that."

"Why not? You did the same thing to me. If you're as serious as you say you are, then that would be easy for you."

"...It's not," Sasuke admitted.

"Then stop saying that you love me because frankly, I don't believe it. You were ready to leave me for her, how is this any different?" Naruto asked.

"So? I'm sorry for what I did. There you got your fucking apology."

"I don't want your apology," Naruto snarled.

"Then what do you want?" Sasuke asked, exasperated.

"You to get the fuck out of my life! I've moved on! You're married for crying out loud! You have a daughter! Is your ego really that big? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on m-" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke punched him, cutting him off. Before Naruto could say or do anything in retaliation, Sasuke drove his knee into the blonde's stomach, causing Naruto to cough and crumble to the ground. Sasuke was quick to deliver multiple kicks to Naruto's exposed stomach and sides.

"You need me to survive in this big, scary world. Without me, you'll always be treated like this," Sasuke taunted him, truly believing that Naruto was still the weak Genin that he had left behind.

"I don't need you," Naruto ground out, starting to stand back up.

"Yes you do, you don't have anyone!" Sasuke shouted, kicking Naruto back down.

"That's not true!" Naruto yelled, trying to defend his friends and new family. He stood back up, "Leave," he ordered, taking Sasuke off-guard for the final time.

"Why?"

"Because I can't stand the sight of you anymore, teme! Just leave," Naruto snarled.

"I don't want to."

"Alright but don't blame me if you die in your sleep."

Naruto took a step back, but Sasuke was faster. The blonde felt a sharp pain in his stomach and looked down to see that he had been stabbed with a knife.

The knife was torn out and Naruto crumpled to the ground in shock. He heard Sasuke laugh maniacally, "All you had to do was let me have my way, Naruto love."

Naruto vaguely heard the raven curse and then Sasuke was gone. A few minutes later, a familiar face filled his vision.

"Naruto!" a familiar voice called out and his vision went dark.


	9. I'm Still Breathing, I'm Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title for this chapter is actually inspired by a Naruto AMV Alive by Sia. Keily GR is the YouTuber who made the AMV. It's really good so if you like it go give them some love! (I use they/them pronouns if I don't know someone's gender)
> 
> Alright: This chapter is slightly softer, but still holds some suicidal and homicidal innuendos. There's also some major denial on Orochimaru's part. Also, there's a kidnapping and a note that may or may not be a bit intense (I wrote this before I wrote the actual note so I don't know what it says just yet).
> 
> As usual, if you like this chapter leave a vote and a comment!

Naruto groaned as he slowly woke up. He squinted against the lights that were shining in his eyes and turned his head. The first thing that he saw was the white walls. The second thing was Orochimaru's head sleeping near his left hand.

_I'm in a hospital. Why am I in the hospital?_

It took Naruto a few moments to remember what had happened. _Sasuke had come over drunk and raped him. Again. Afterward, they had an argument that had led to Sasuke punching and kicking him. Naruto had threatened to kill Sasuke again and had started to back away when Sasuke had stabbed him in the stomach._

Tears started to fall down Naruto's face as he remembered everything. He closed his eyes and made a promise to hide what had happened.

_**Kit, they need to know what really happened.** _

_I know, but I can't tell them what Sasuke did, they might execute him! I can't do that to Sakura-chan and Sarada-chan!_

Kurama sighed, _**I understand, I really do, but he really needs to be put away or killed for what he has done. If they guess what really happened or Inochi finds out, please press charges against the bastard.**_

Naruto sighed, _Alright Kurama._

Naruto watched as Orochimaru slept and gently raised his left hand to place it softly on his husband's head. He watched as Orochimaru woke up, gently taking Naruto's hand off his head to kiss it.

"I almost lost you," Orochimaru murmured against Naruto's hand.

"I know," Naruto whispered, turning his head away in shame. "I'm sorry. He... he did it again and I... I couldn't stand it anymore."

"No, you don't know. I loved you and then you were gone... and I knew I lost you. I'm not losing you again."

"When did you first lose me?" Naruto asked, moving his eyes back to his husband, who looked as pained as Naruto felt.

"When you went to Sasuke. The second time was when you said that you couldn't stay. The third time was when you tried to kill yourself just now -sorry I didn't mean to say it like I'm counting off your sins or that type of shit, I really did think that I lost you," Orochimaru replied, closing his eyes briefly.

"I'm... I'm trying. I really am," Naruto whispered, his voice breaking from the force of his emotions.

"I know, Naruto," Orochimaru smiled weakly.

Naruto flinched at the use of his name, "I let you down."

"No, you tried to fix a terrible situation the wrong way, there's a difference," Orochimaru replied, trying to comfort his husband. He placed a hand on Naruto's cheek, wiping away his tears much as Sasuke had done earlier.

Naruto leaned into Orochimaru's touch, "But... I just tried to kill myself."

"Yes, and I don't doubt that you'd try to do it again. I'm not disappointed in you, I'm worried for you," Orochimaru said, gently.

"Really...?" Naruto asked, not ready to believe Orochimaru just yet.

"Yes, try and get some sleep. Tsunade said that Inochi is going to come by later to talk to you," Orochimaru said, starting to stand up, only to have Naruto catch his sleeve.

"Ok... Orochi?" Naruto asked shyly.

"Yes?" Orochimaru probed, finding Naruto adorable when he was shy.

"Do you love me?" Naruto asked, his voice barely loud enough to be heard, but Orochimaru heard it. The raven sat back down and held Naruto's hand.

"Yes. I do, and I will," Orochimaru said, kissing Naruto's cheek.

"Thanks, Orochi," Naruto whispered, tears threatening to fall once more.

Orochimaru wiped his tears away again. "We'll figure it out," he whispered.

"Can we?"

"I don't know, but I'd like to believe so if you don't mind," Orochimaru admitted.

"The last time I believed that my heart got broken."

"I won't break your heart, it means too much to me for me to do that," Orochimaru promised before kissing Naruto sweetly.

Naruto pushed Orochimaru away and the older raven frowned, worry evident on his face, "Am I too late?"

"I'm still alive if that's what you mean," Naruto replied vaguely, trying to avoid the conversation.

"You know what I mean," Orochimaru admonished.

Naruto hung his head, "No. No, you're not too late. He destroyed the last of what I felt for him when he tried to kill me. I mean, he already had tried to kill me twice before, maybe even three times, but this time it was more... personal I guess," Naruto's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth in fear of telling the complete truth.

"He did what?"

Naruto shook his head. He _wouldn't_ talk about it. He _couldn't_. If he did, they would hurt him and in turn hurt Sakura and Sarada and he couldn't do that to the woman who had done so much for him.

"Why can't you see what you're doing to me?" Orochimaru asked when Naruto refused to answer him. He _wasn't_ trying to guilt-trip the younger man, he was just trying to make Naruto see that he was _hurting_ him by not telling the truth.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry," Naruto apologized, tears falling more rapidly now.

"I know and yet I want retribution for my troubles," Orochimaru replied coldly, glaring at his husband. Daring him to lie to him again or even avoid the whole conversation.

Naruto gulped, "I just didn't want you to get hurt. I... I had fallen for you, but I had that one-night stand with him and he expected more, more than what I was willing to give, but I gave it anyway. A-and then we broke up and I came back to you because you made it that much easier for me," he admitted. This conversation _should've_ taken place as soon as they knew that they were going to be married, but Naruto just couldn't bring himself to tell his husband the truth.

"Why leave in the first place?" Orochimaru asked, his voice still cold, though his glare softened marginally.

Naruto gulped again, "I-I thought that you didn't l-love me and that you were just using me to get your sexual frustrations out. I was an idiot."

"Yes, yes you were," Orochimaru muttered, his voice warm once more. He kissed him softly and passionately. The raven pulled away and held Naruto's face gently, "And I shouldn't forgive you this easily, but I am. You know I have feelings for you."

"I do and I don't want you to get hurt because of me," Naruto admitted, his eyes closing as he leaned into his husband's hold.

"You could never hurt me, not any more than you already have," Orochimaru whispered, trying to comfort his husband once more.

"What if I kill you?" Naruto asked, pain laced in his voice.

"Then I'll gladly die," Orochimaru replied confidently and with determination in his eyes.

"I want to believe you, I do, but I can't because the last person I believed in broke my heart," Naruto whispered against Orochimaru's lips.

"I understand, Naruto, but I will still say it because I mean it. I really do truly love you," Orochimaru insisted.

"You're too good for me," Naruto laughed softly and finally released his husband so he could leave.

Orochimaru gave Naruto a dead-panned look, "Did you forget that I've tried to kill you at least twice and that I was once the most wanted man alive? If anything, you're too good for me!"

"My point stands," Naruto insisted. He was silent for a while before he whispered, "This isn't anything like how I imagined it."

"Oh, how did you imagine all this?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"Well, I accepted your offer for a date and used that to tell Sasuke no when he tried to force me into a relationship. I married you and we lived happily ever after because I never would've tried killing myself."

"That's... how many times did you imagine this?" Orochimaru's brows wrinkled as he tried to imagine the picture, but kept falling short.

"Thousands," Naruto admitted.

"And now?" Orochimaru asked hesitantly. He _knew_ the answer, but he didn't want to hear it.

"Now? Now I just want to end it all," Naruto replied casually with a shrug.

Orochimaru opened his mouth to say something, but Tobirama walked in before any words could be said.

"Hello, Orochi-san, would you wait outside while I talk to Naruto privately?"

Orochimaru nodded while Naruto flinched at the second Hokage's cold voice.

Naruto thought about asking Orochimaru to stay, but the man left before he could ask. The blonde took a steadying breath before forcing himself to glance at his friend.

"What were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?" Tobirama asked, his voice so cold that he could feel ice crawling up his spine.

No wait, that was Tobirama manipulating the water to make ice. _Damn it._

"No! I wasn't! Sasuke came to me wanting to get back together... and he didn't like my answer," Naruto yelped, trying to appease the former Hokage.

"Then why did you say that you tried to kill yourself?" Tobirama asked, his voice still as cold as ice.

Naruto sighed, "... I guess a part of me didn't want to see him hurt even though I know what he did was wrong." Naruto paused, "Actually, I didn't Sakura-chan or Sarada-chan to get hurt because of Sasuke's bad decisions."

Tobirama sighed. He had seen that response coming from the empathetic blonde, "In any case, you're not safe here."

"Am I safe anywhere?" Naruto asked bitterly.

"Yes, Suna. Your friend will keep you safe and he won't try and go near you," Tobirama informed him.

"I don't want to leave him," Naruto admitted, curling up into a ball.

"I'm sure he'd follow you if you asked him to," Tobirama promised, a small smile forming on his lips.

"I wouldn't ask that of him," Naruto tried to insist.

"You don't have to, he'd follow you if you just left," Tobirama promised.

"He really loves me, huh?" Naruto asked, his voice small and a small bitter smile on his lips.

Tobirama gave Naruto a dead-panned look, "Are you just figuring that out?"

Naruto scoffed and Tobirama left the room to see Orochimaru waiting in the lobby.

Tobirama glared at the raven, "Can't you tell he's broken?"

"No, he isn't, he just needs some time to heal, that's all," Orochimaru insisted.

"You've been saying that for the past year. You're in denial that he needs long-term help. The longer you deny it, the worse he'll get," Tobirama predicted, trying to get the man to see reason.

"He just needs time to heal," Orochimaru insisted, more to himself than to Tobirama.

Tobirama sighed and left the lobby, running to the tower to speak to his grand-niece. He arrived when she was busy talking to her grandfather. He chuckled when he heard what they were talking about.

"Why don't they just kiss already?" Tsunade asked, trying to understand why they weren't going to have another child.

"They have. Passionately. I think that they're afraid to take it further again. Well, Naruto is, Orochimaru would love to ravish the boy once more," Hashirama answered nonchalantly.

"That was more than I needed to know," Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead.

As soon as Naruto was completely healed, he stood in front of Tsunade, "Konnichiwa*, Baasan. I've come to ask for a couple of favors."

Tobirama stiffened as he knew what Naruto was going to ask. Tsunade shifted her eyes from her grand-uncle back to Naruto, "What is it brat?"

Naruto smiled bitterly, "My first favor is to be allowed to travel and stay in Suna, where I can be protected by the Kazekage until the issue with Sasuke can be dealt with."

Tsunade nodded, "I can allow that. And the second favor?"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I would like it if you didn't tell Orochimaru where I went. Tell him that I went on an extended mission if you have to. I don't want him to be mixed up with all this if Sasuke comes after me."

Tsunade closed her eyes briefly and took a long sip of sake, "...I promise."

Naruto bowed, "Thank you, baachan."

Tsunade's eyes widened at the use of the old nickname. He hadn't used the casual nickname for over a year, nearly two years, after Sasuke had done everything.

Naruto smiled and left the Tower, leaving his daughter and husband at their home.

A few hours after Naruto left Konoha with Tsunade's written permission, Orochimaru came by the Tower with Kiyoshi. Tsunade was on a break with Hashirama, Tobirama taking her place.

"Hello, Tobi-san. Do you know where Naruto is?"

Tobirama sighed, "He has asked for you not to know, but I feel like you should know. You may do what you wish with the information. He has gone to Suna to be housed and protected by the Kazekage."

Orochimaru was silent for a few minutes, "Thank you, Tobi-san."

Tobirama smiled, "Don't be too harsh on the kid, he just didn't want you to get hurt."

Orochimaru smiled back at him, "I know, he told me himself. I'll take responsibility if I or Kiyoshi get hurt while we stay in Suna since we are going to go without permission."

Tobirama frowned, "If you do that, people may take that as you going rouge again."

Orochimaru smiled before bowing, "I understand and will take responsibility like I just said."

Tobirama nodded, "Get out of here before Tsunade gets back."

Orochimaru bowed and left the tower.

\----

A few hours later, he stood in front of Suna. He approached the gate guards, "Hello, I would like to see Kazekage Gaara please."

The guards nodded before escorting the ex-sannin to the Kazekage Tower. Sannin rights were awesome, despite him not even being a sannin it anymore.

Gaara sighed when he saw Orochimaru, "You're here for Naruto, am I right?"

Orochimaru nodded and Gaara smiled slightly, "I'll allow you to talk to him."

Orochimaru bowed, "Thank you, Kazekage."

Gaara waved off his gratitude, "Think nothing of it. I may be Naruto's friend, but I know that he shouldn't be facing everything alone. Temari will take care of Kiyoshi so you and Naruto can talk in private. I can't allow you more than an hour, though."

Orochimaru bowed and Gaara smiled, "Kankuro, please escort Orochimaru-sama to where Naruto is staying."

Temari smiled as she took Kiyoshi from Orochimaru, already cooing at the adorable two-year-old, who was starting to get sleepy.

Kankuro and Orochimaru were silent as he escorted the ex-sannin throughout the Tower to the guest room where Naruto was staying, "This is the room where he's staying for now." Kankuro paused before he added, "Gaara views him as a brother, so please don't do anything that would hurt the boy as not only will Gaara come after your ass but Temari and I will as well."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Consider me warned."

Kankuro nodded and left Orochimaru in front of the door. Orochimaru knocked gently and waited as Naruto opened the door.

Naruto chuckled bitterly as he let his husband into the sound-proof room, "Let me guess, both Tobirama and Gaara told you where I was staying?"

Orochimaru nodded, "They are very good friends, but they also think that you were making a bad decision."

Naruto sighed softly and sat down on his bed, "I wasn't ready to say goodbye," he whispered.

"I know, I don't hold you responsible," Orochimaru smiled.

"You met me at a very strange time in my life. I was depressed after the war, paranoid as well. You saw as I entered into a relationship with Sasuke, who was dating Sakura out in public. You saw the moment he broke my heart and you then pieced my heart back together," Naruto admitted, laying back on his bed so he could see the ceiling.

"Who knew that you had such a way with words?" Orochimaru mused, amused that his husband was so deep at only 19.

Naruto laughed bitterly, "It comes with the heartbreak, it makes you more poetic, more in tune with your emotions than before."

"None of that matters now. What matters is that you're safe and you are."

"How can you tell?" Naruto asked, sitting up to see his husband, who was leaning against the doorway, smiling at him.

"For one, you aren't jumping like someone's about to scare you to death. For two, you're smiling. Actually smiling. That's got to stand for something," Orochimaru responded and Naruto grinned.

His grin fell when he remembered what Sasuke had done, "I'm scared," he admitted.

"I know."

"Can you stay here?" Naruto asked, his voice soft.

"Of course, Naruto," Orochimaru promised, "Though it might make Gaara mad since he doesn't want me to stay here longer than an hour."

Naruto smiled, then held out his arms, "Please hold me."

Orochimaru smiled and walked to Naruto's bed and fell on top of Naruto, the blonde giggling at the raven's flop.

Orochimaru pulled Naruto closer to himself and kissed Naruto's forehead and cheeks, Naruto giggling with each soft kiss.

Their moment was interrupted when Kankuro burst into the room panting hard. Orochimaru both wrinkled their brows at his odd behavior, "Kankuro-kun, I know my hour isn't over yet so what's the matter?"

Kankuro shook his head and handed the blonde a small piece of paper.

_To the Dobe,_

_Since you refuse to do things the easy way, I've decided to do things the hard way._

_If you want your beautiful daughter to live, then you will meet me at our old apartment before the week is over. I'm giving you that long to decide if you want to go back to the easy way or not._

_Come alone and unarmed and I may just let your daughter live._

_Yours truly,_

_Sasuke Uchiha_

Naruto's hands shook as he felt Kurama take over his body. He couldn't stop Kurama as he lunged for Kankuro and grabbed the slightly older male by his collar. He _didn't want to stop him._

 **"What's the meaning of this note?"** Kurama growled.

Kankuro started to sweat, "Temari was put in charge of Kiyoshi and just now, she was found unconscious with multiple life-threatening wounds, including a Chidori hole in her arms. Instead of Kiyoshi, we found this note next to her on the wall."

 **"I'm going to heal your sister and then I'm going after that bastard. Orochimaru,"** Kurama called. Orochimaru looked over at Kurama with fear in his eyes, **"the bastard has told this idiot to go alone. I won't tell you not to follow, but please be warned that Kiyoshi is in danger. She may die if Sasuke finds out that you're in the area before you can grab your daughter. This concerns both you and your daughter. I'll be letting Naruto take control so it looks like he's unarmed."**

Orochimaru nodded, "I want to go. Just make sure you distract Sasuke long enough for me to grab Kiyoshi. You can do whatever you want to do with him."

**"Considering his wife is pregnant with a boy, I'll maim, but won't kill him so Tsunade-chan can deal with him legally. As soon as you grab Kiyoshi, shunshine to the Hokage Tower and get Tsunade to come** _**immediately** _ **."**

Orochimaru nodded, "Understood, Kurama-sama."


	10. Whatcha Gonna Do Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from Phoenix from the League of Legends. The picture is, of course, not mine and from Pinterest, as usual.
> 
> Hello, lovelies! This is the last chapter of "Second Chances Shouldn't Go To Waste." There WILL be a short epilogue showing how everyone is handling the ending.
> 
> Warnings: This chapter contains brief fighting that ends with someone paralyzed, suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, and suicide. If you don't like any of that, then skip to the bottom of the chapter, where I will summarize what exactly happened so you can understand the Epilogue and not be WHAT IS THIS??? when you read the Epilogue.
> 
> I have completed the Epilogue and will be posting it not much later after posting this chapter, so watch out for it. I will be starting on the sequel as soon as possible, as I'm excited to write that mess of a book, lol. I'm hoping for the sequel to be much longer than this book and much lighter.
> 
> That being said, this chapter really hit home with me as I actually feel the same way as Naruto does. If you find yourself agreeing with Naruto in any aspect PLEASE seek help. I, unfortunately, don't know of the hotlines for suicide, but if you do feel that way, please try and seek professional help if you can.
> 
> If you like this chapter, please leave a vote and a comment!

True to his word, Kurama healed Temari. It took only a few seconds until she was out of danger and Kankuro and Gaara both sighed in relief as they saw Kurama "power down."

Naruto glared at them, he had thought they had gotten over their unbased fear of the nine-tailed chakra beast. He turned to glare at his husband. He had heard everything while Kurama had control of his body, "Have you lost your damn mind?" Naruto yelled, concern showing in his anger.

"That is debatable, yes. Trust me on this," Orochimaru pleaded.

"When do I don't?" Naruto asked, cocking an eyebrow. Orochimaru gave Naruto a deadpan stare and Naruto rolled his eyes, "Point taken."

Naruto wasted no more time going after his former friend, noticing when Orochimaru's chakra completely disappeared. He briefly entered Sage Mode and was satisfied to not be able to sense Orochimaru, which also scared him slightly.

Naruto went back to focusing on his run, exiting Sage Mode so Sasuke wouldn't be able to say that he was "armed" in any way. He just prayed that they could grab Kiyoshi before she could get hurt by the Uchiha. Naruto wondered if insanity ran in his family or if it was just a curse brought on by overusing his Sharingan during the war.

Naruto shook his head and pushed himself to run faster and soon reached the village, if you counted a few hours soon, that is. Within a few more minutes, Naruto finally made it to the apartment that he and Sasuke had shared during their time together.

Naruto took a deep breath and entered the apartment to see Sasuke holding Kiyoshi in the middle of the living room.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered, grabbing the raven's attention immediately.

Sasuke grinned maniacally, "I knew you would choose the easy way! If you don't mind, I'm going to keep your daughter with me for a bit longer before I let her go, she's so precious!"

"You hate me and I don't know why!" Naruto whisper-yelled and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I don't hate you."

"You just tried to kill me! I had to make it seem that I tried to commit suicide in order to save your pathetic ass, you bastard!"

"I didn't ask for you to do that," Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"You're making me think that what they told me about you was right," Naruto snarled, keeping a watchful eye on his daughter.

"What did they say about me?" Sasuke asked half-curious and half-irritated.

"That you're a no-good bastard out to destroy my faith in love. I've got to say that I believe them," Naruto replied with more confidence than he felt.

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, letting his daughter go unconsciously.

"MAKE ME! You played with my heart, you bastard! And all you can say is 'Whatever' or 'Shut up!' Why can't you take responsibility for your actions?" Naruto shouted and Kiyoshi silently crept up the stairs, spotting her father and running to him.

Orochimaru held Kiyoshi tightly as he shunshined out of the apartment.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled

"Oh so NOW you're yelling? Go ahead- rip my heart out," Naruto taunted, holding his arms out in a spread eagle position, "It's not like you haven't done that emotionally, you might as well finish the job."

"Is that a challenge?" Sasuke growled, getting into a fighting position.

"NO!" Naruto yelled, but it was too late, Sasuke had already launched himself at the blonde with a Chidori.

Naruto expertly dodged the deadly lightning. It was then that Sasuke realized that Kiyoshi was gone and turned to try and escape. Naruto growled and hit Sasuke with a Rasenshuriken, stunning the Uchiha before stabbing the raven in the back, permanently paralyzing the slightly older teen from the waist down unless Tsunade decided to heal him.

Naruto looked down at the writhing raven, "I'm not the weak Genin that you left two years ago. I made it to Honin with my own blood, sweat, and tears. Tsunade-sama is thinking of putting me in Anbu training soon so I can gain even better training and experience."

Tsunade walked out of the shadows, Tobirama and Hashirama following her with a couple of Anbu following them.

"Take Sasuke Uchiha away to the prison. Be careful of his legs, if you wouldn't mind," Tsunade ordered and the two Anbu carefully picked up the screaming Uchiha, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

Naruto chuckled bitterly, "Guess the situation cleared up sooner than expected."

**Timeskip: One Week Later**

Naruto tossed and turned in his bed. Orochimaru hadn't joined him yet and he was restless. He finally gave up trying to sleep around midnight and made his way to the living room, where Orochimaru was sitting, staring out of the window, eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at absolutely nothing.

Orochimaru glanced over at Naruto and smiled softly, "Hello, Naru-chan. What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Naruto muttered.

"It's okay, I couldn't sleep either," Orochimaru admitted.

Naruto sat beside his husband and Orochimaru wrapped a pale arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling him toward his chest.

They stayed that way for a while before Naruto spoke up, "C-could I visit Jiraiya's grave. I just realized that I haven't done that since everything that has happened and been busy since the war."

Orochimaru smiled down at Naruto softly, "Of course! I've been meaning to pay my former teammate and apologize for how I treated him. I didn't get the chance before he was killed by Pein."

Naruto grinned and they ran off to where Naruto had made the memorial. It was just a small stone with the carving of the word "teacher" on it, a copy of Gutsy Ninja, and never-ending flowers of hope given to Naruto from Konan after Nagato gave his life to bring everyone he had killed back to life.

Naruto spoke first, "I wish you were here, ero-sennin." Orochimaru chuckled at the childish nickname that Naruto had given his old teammate that had stuck. "A lot of things have happened since you died. We won the war, I had a one-night stand with both Sasuke and Orochimaru and then Sasuke forced me into a relationship. Three months later, Sasuke left me and married Sakura a week later. The day after Sasuke and Sakura got married, I found out I was pregnant. The good news is that it was Orochimaru's child! A month after Kiyoshi was born, Sakura came back pregnant with Saradia. Sasuke came back to Konoha to see his daughter get born and found out that I could get pregnant. He wanted me to be his consort or some shit like that, but I refused and he tried to kill me. Kiyoshi, Orochimaru, and I fled to Suna to escape Sasuke but he followed us. We ended up permanently damaging Sasuke and now... now he is going on trial in a few days."

"He already knows," Orochimaru muttered softly, his eyes closed as he tried not to cry as he tried to comfort his grieving husband.

"Really, how?" Naruto asked, only a fraction of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well, he is in the afterlife, I hope, looking after you."

"You hope?" Naruto asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"If he's not he's got some explaining to do about why he thought it was a good idea to fake his fucking death," Orochimaru deadpanned and Naruto giggled.

**Timeskip: Three Years Later**

Naruto walked home after work, feeling empty despite everything he did to feel loved and wanted. Sasuke had been charged on two charges of murder attempts, one charge of kidnapping, and several charges of rape. His chakra and Sharingan were sealed away with no promise of ever getting them back. He was now going through physical and mental rehabilitation with Inochi and Guy and was now, finally, a changed man for the better.

Naruto couldn't help but think that this could've ended much sooner if he had only gotten help sooner. If he had pressed charges sooner. Sakura, Sarada, and Akiro -Sasuke's son- visited Sasuke every month and had forgiven Naruto quickly for splitting their family, well Sakura and Sarada had, Akiro hadn't even been born yet when everything happened and still looked at Naruto warily. The three-year-old sure did know how to hold a grudge that wasn't even his to hold.

True to his words, Tsunade had put Naruto in an Anbu training course. His goal wasn't so much as to become an Anbu as it was to get the better training and experience that came with being an Anbu. He ended up being the best Anbu without any of the tailed beasts' help.

He was known as the Bloody Kitsune and is considered the most dangerous Shinobi alive, right under Tobirama, Hashirama, Tsunade, and Orochimaru of course.

Naruto shifted his long sleeves to hide his scars a bit better, _Say, Kurama..._

_**Yes, kit?** _

_If I were to actually try to kill myself... would you and the others want to be released beforehand or would all of you want to die with me?_

Kurama was silent as he considered the implications of the question. If the tailed beasts died, so would the entire source of chakra, albeit over a very long course of time.

_**... I don't know about everyone else, but I'd want to go out with you.** _

Naruto stood shock-still as all eight of the other tailed beasts said the exact same thing. He kept his tears hidden, though. He was tired of crying even if it was from joy and not from sadness.

Naruto was brought out of his voice when he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Hey, Naru-chan!"

Naruto grinned brightly at his friend, Isamu, and they started to walk around Konoha together, "Hello, Isamu-chan, how are you and Akane doing?"

Isamu grinned, "We're doing great, thanks for asking! Akane is all healed up finally. I never thought she would make it this far when all this happened."

Naruto smiled softly, "It's always the weakest people who surprise everyone."

Isamu grinned, "That's true!" His grin fell as he started to chew on his lip, "Ano, Naru-chan, there's something I need to tell you..."

Naruto hummed, "Yes?"

"Akane and I... are leaving soon. We're going back to our village, as they need us."

Naruto was shocked. He was sad to see his friends leave Konoha for good, but forced a smile on his face, "That's great news! I'm happy that you and Akane can go home now that she's doing better!"

Isamu regarded Naruto for a few moments, "Oi, Naru-chan, don't pretend to be something that you aren't for my sake. If you are sad to see me go, then cry, alright?"

Naruto's eyes widened and his grin turned real, "Arigato, Isamu-chan!" Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes, but he still held them back. He bowed at his friend of three years, "Arigato, Isamu-chan for being my friend. If I don't get to see Akane-chan before she leaves, please tell her the same thing. Also..." Naruto trailed off, looking to the ground in embarrassment.

"Also?" Isamu probed.

"...Also, you don't have to pretend to be something that you aren't for my sake. If you are a female, then you don't have to hide that part of yourself to make me comfortable, because I will always be comfortable around you, no matter what dattebayo! I guess I should've told you that much sooner, huh?"

Isamu's eyes widened, "Arigato, Naru-chan. You are an amazing Shinobi. It's OK to not be able to keep carrying on if you honestly can't keep marching on."

Naruto nodded and walked away from his friend, already knowing that he would never get the chance to thank Akane like he wanted to.

He finally made it home to Orochimaru, who immediately kissed him passionately.

Naruto chuckled bitterly, "I can't think straight with you."

"Is that a bad thing?" Orochimaru asked, concern laced into his voice.

"Normally, yes. What's this between us?" Naruto asked.

"Love, I hope."

"Is this like me and Sasuke?"

"No, that was just lust."

"How long will this go on for?" Naruto asked, his voice tired.

"For as long as you want it to," Orochimaru admitted.

"I don't want it to ever end and I want it to just stop," Naruto admitted, tears finally from their place in his eyes.

"Then don't let it end and I'll end it for us when it gets too much for you," Orochimaru replied, gently wiping Naruto's tears away.

"You won't understand," Naruto muttered.

"Try me."

"I'm a monster."

"No, you're not," Orochimaru insisted.

"... I'm sorry but I can't find it within myself to believe you anymore. You deserve so much better than me."

"Stop lying," Orochimaru demanded.

"I'm not. Please, don't leave," Naruto begged.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Orochimaru promised.

Naruto shook his head and headed to his room, not believing his husband. He locked the room and immediately heard Orochimaru banging on the door, "I'm begging you, please don't lock yourself in your room," Orochimaru pleaded, already knowing what Naruto was planning to do.

"... I'm sorry Orochimaru, take care of Kiyoshi for me," Naruto called back as he pulled out his knife.

"NARUTO!" Orochimaru screamed, shocking Naruto. He had never heard Orochimaru sound so... hurt.

A few seconds later, Hashirama knocked down his door and Naruto glanced at the trio with dull, dead eyes.

"You'd better put that knife down," Tobirama warned as he gently took a few steps towards Naruto, who just raised the knife to his throat.

"Why should I? No one cares for me anyways," Naruto responded, truly believing that he was alone in the world.

"I care about you, Tsunade cares about you, Hashirama cares about you, Orochimaru cares about you, Kiyoshi cares about you and she's only 5, Sakura cares about you, Kakashi cares about you, Lee cares about you, Neji cares about you, Hinata cares about you, Gaara cares about you, I could keep going," Tobirama gently insisted. The effect was immediate and devastating for the trio to witness.

Naruto dropped the knife and screamed in mental anguish and started to hyperventilate as he held his head in his hands. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, lifeless but still alive. _Still breathing. Why was he still breathing? Why was he not dead yet?_

Tobirama was the first to respond. He rushed forward and grabbed Naruto's face and kissed him, trying to calm the blonde's breathing rate by stopping it completely for a few seconds. Naruto struggled against Tobirama and the albino realized that they had an audience.

"It's not what it looks like..." Tobirama tried to explain.

"It looks like you were kissing my husband," Orochimaru replied coldly, his eyes glaring a hole into the second Hokage, who started to sweat.

"He was having a panic attack and I read somewhere that kissing someone who is having a panic attack can help calm their breathing down and ground them in reality. If it makes you feel better, he didn't kiss me back, if anything he tried pushing me away while hyperventilating," Tobirama rushed to explain.

"That doesn't really make it better..." Orochimaru sweatdropped and sighed. "Nevermind, let's just get him to the hospital."

It took a few minutes for Orochimaru to reach the hospital and Naruto was admitted into the hospital. Tsunade rushed over as soon as she heard that her godson was in the hospital... again.

"What happened?" Tsunade demanded.

Tobirama sighed, "Naruto tried to kill himself, for real this time. He probably would've succeeded if Hashirama hadn't been there to break down his door."

Tsunade inhaled sharply and glanced at Naruto and Orochimaru, who was trying to comfort Naruto, who kept repeating that he was a monster and that he would just hurt everyone.

"You've never hurt me. Ever," Orochimaru lied.

"Really?" Naruto asked with dull eyes glancing at him.

"No, but now you can't," Orochimaru promised.

Naruto wrinkled his forehead, "You're confusing me..."

"I know, I'm sorry," Orochimaru comforted him before pulling him into a hug.

"Don't listen to them," Tobirama advised, talking about the villagers who still called him a monster.

"They're right, though," Naruto responded, not looking at anyone.

"No, they're not," Tobirama insisted.

"Says who?" Naruto shot back, his previous fire sparking for the first time in years.

"The law for one," Tobirama stated.

Naruto glared at the older man before turning his eyes from everyone.

"Don't shut me out. Not again," Orochimaru begged.

Naruto didn't move his eyes as he sat shock-still on the hospital bed.

"Please talk to me about it," Orochimaru begged a second time.

Naruto still didn't respond and Orochimaru sighed, "At least talk to Inochi or Tsunade."

Naruto glanced lazily at his godmother before going back to his earlier position.

After that, no matter what someone said, Naruto didn't respond nor did he move an inch. Around midnight, Naruto left the hospital without anyone noticing him.

He decided to visit Jiraiya's memorial. He knelt down in front of the objects, finally letting his tears fall freely, "Sometimes it just gets too hard to keep pretending. I'm not alright, never was and no one but Orochimaru saw it, but he only saw it when I was too far gone. You can only go through so much before you've had enough of the pain and numb yourself to it. That's how I could smile, that's how I could laugh, that's how I could make it through my pregnancy and be a good mother, but I can't keep this up. I try to tell Inochi but the wrong words come out. I can't take this anymore. See you soon, ero-sennin."

_How should I kill myself, Kurama?_

Kurama sat in thought before he spoke again, _**I could do it for you, kit.**_

Naruto smiled, _Alright._

Naruto felt his control ebb away as Kurama took over his body once more.

The young blonde-haired adult looked up to the night sky littered with stars. His red eyes searched for everything -anything- in that great expanse of mysteries.

The man sighed as he closed his eyes. Nothing. He had found nothing.

A small smile graced his lips as his eyes sprang back open and he started to run to his final destination: The Hokage Heads.

The man knew that no one would be up to stop him this time. He couldn't find himself to care for his host's daughter or husband, who would both be crushed by his actions.

They were strong, they would survive this. Just like they had survived against Sasuke three years ago. He just wasn't strong enough to continue surviving and he knew that it was OK.

He said his last goodbyes before he took that last step and smiled as he greeted death, who looked at all ten of them with such sadness in his eyes.

That's when the red-eyed man felt himself merging with a certain five-year-old, who stopped crying when she noticed that there was something _different_ about her.

Kurama looked around him and saw that the same thing was happening to the other tailed beasts, only with different children or adults.

Naruto stared at all this with dull, dead blue eyes.

"Do you want to try again?"

"... Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary time! If you already read the chapter, feel free to skip to the Epilogue!
> 
> So Kurama heals Temari and powers down, letting Naruto get to Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke argue and at one point, Kiyoshi slips away with Orochimaru, who leaves to grab Tsunade as promised.
> 
> Sasuke tries to stab Naruto with the Chidori and Naruto dodges, stuns Sasuke, and finally paralyzes him. Tsunade arrives and she orders Sasuke taken away.
> 
> One week later, Naruto finally visits Jiraiya's memorial again and tells the dead man what had happened after Jiraiya died up to that moment. Orochimaru comforts Naruto.
> 
> Three years later, Naruto is now a deadly Anbu called Bloody Kitsune. Naruto asks Kurama and the tailed beasts how they would react if he tried to kill himself and all of them tell him that they'd die with him.
> 
> Isamu comes along and tells Naruto that he and Akane are going to be leaving and it's revealed that Naruto knows that Isamu is a transfemale.
> 
> Naruto goes home and talks to Orochimaru and tries to commit suicide, he's stopped before he can even try and ends up having a severe mental breakdown and eventually stops responding completely.
> 
> Around midnight, he leaves the hospital and finally reveals how broken his mind really is and allows Kurama to commit suicide for him.
> 
> Death (Shinigami) allows the tailed beasts the merge with one person as they die and offers Naruto a second chance at life.


	11. Epilogue: Phoenix Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is also from Phoenix from the League of Legends.
> 
> Here's the Epilogue, my lovelies! It's a bit shorter than usual, but I feel like It showcases how everyone is doing after Naruto's death.
> 
> If you like this chapter, please leave a vote and a comment!
> 
> I also wanted to thank everyone who had been with me since I started this book and everyone who has voted and commented on my other stories, you guys are awesome and I hope you continue to support me and the other stories my pitiful brain comes up with ^-^

Tsunade and Hashirama stood in front of the memorial and grave of Naruto Uzumaki. Tsunade still couldn't believe that it had been a year since Naruto had committed suicide and the tailed beasts merged with nine children and adults: Gaara, Sakura, and Kiyoshi being only three of the seven that had been affected by it all. Nobody knew who the other four were, though if Tsunade had to guess, Hinata and Neji were also merged with a tailed beast, or at least just Hinata.

"Something strange happened here," Tsunade muttered to her grandfather that she could barely believe was alive. It had been over six years since he had been brought back to life by Orochimaru accidentally and she was grateful for every moment with him.

"Yes, but it was a good strange, right?" Hashirama commented.

"You think him dying is _good?_ " Tsunade asked, aghast.

"No, not really, but the outcome was good," Hashirama tried to insist.

"My point stands because him dying _was_ the outcome," Tsunade stated, giving her grandfather a deadpanned look.

Hashirama raised his hands, "My bad." He paused and then glanced at Tsunade, "How is it going with him?"

"Alcohol's the only constant in my life," Tsunade commented, shrugging.

"That's not a good thing to be proud of," Hashirama admonished, sweat-dropping at his granddaughter's behavior.

Tsunade chuckled bitterly, "Who says that I'm proud of it?"

Their talk was peppered with jokes about what had happened, it almost looked ridiculous now, but with the absence of Naruto, it didn't seem as funny. It was less so when they realized that Naruto had been absent long before he killed himself. If Tsunade had to guess, he had been absent since his childhood and covered up his mental and physical scars with smiles and make-up.

She sighed, "Hiruzen really messed up not getting the boy help sooner."

Hashirama hummed in agreement, "So did you. You only noticed how different he was after the war."

Tsunade sighed, "I'm a terrible godmother."

Hashirama glanced at Tsunade sharply, "No you weren't. You really did try your best, though it wasn't enough for Naruto. Now you know what to do in the future if someone like Naruto comes along."

"Someone like Naruto, huh..."

Their conversation was cut short as Kiyoshi ran up to Tsunade, "Baasan! Baasan! Tousan and I are gonna be watching over Kaachan for now so you two can get some rest! We'll make sure he doesn't get hurt!"

Tsunade and Hashirama smiled at Kiyoshi's antics, reminded of a certain blonde-haired man who was secretly still a boy, "We'll leave it to you and Orochi-san, then."

Tsunade and Hashirama waved goodbye at the father and daughter duo and started walking back through Konoha, running into Tobirama quickly, who immediately hugged Tsunade.

Tsunade blushed softly at the attention and glared at Hashirama, who chuckled at her embarrassment, "H-how's Kakashi-kun holding up in the office by himself?"

Tobirama chuckled, "He has Shikamaru and Shikaku to keep him company for now."

\----

In the rehabilitation center right next to the grave, Sasuke and Sakura watched as Orochimaru and Kiyoshi paid their respects to Naruto's grave and as the energetic raven-haired girl with mix-matched eyes bounced around the graveyard, much to Orochimaru's amusement and concern.

Sasuke chuckled softly, "I can't believe I ever thought she was mine just because she had black hair."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who had a sad look in his eyes, "Yeah, that was pretty idiotic."

They fell silent as they continued to watch the father and daughter duo, "I wonder if Naruto can see how happy everyone is? How he's changed everything for the better by killing off the chakra beasts inside him?" Sasuke mused, catching Sakura off-guard.

"I'm sure he can."

"I wish I could apologize to him face-to-face or at least go back in time and not force Naruto to do anything."

Sakura smiled softly, "I'm sure Naruto knows that you're a changed man now that you can't walk properly."

Sasuke pouted at the reminder of what Naruto had been forced to do to him to protect himself and his family from the Uchiha. Sasuke couldn't find it within himself to miss his chakra nor his Sharingan, he felt that sealing it away permanently had been the right choice that Tsunade had made and he would never ask for it back, even if he ever showed that he deserved to have it back.

Sakura and Sarada laughed at Sasuke's expression. It had taken them a while to get used to open expressions, but they were glad for Sasuke's child-like moments as Sakura knew that Sasuke had had it rough. That he had grown up too fast, much like Naruto had, only Sasuke had handled it only marginally better than Naruto did.

"I just hope Naruto's afterlife is better than this life... nobody deserved what I did to him," Sasuke muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to ask that nobody yells at Sasuke for being "too late to fix anything."
> 
> The sequel will explain everything and is going to be set up as a "fix-it."
> 
> That being said, the rewrite may end up differently, though I would like it if nobody yells at Sasuke and respect my wishes.
> 
> Thank you for reading this pitiful story and I hope you enjoyed it!


	12. A/N

Hello, Lovelies! Neanai here with a warning: I'm going to be overhauling this entire story.

What that means is I'm going to be changing quite a bit.

1) I'm going to start the story earlier so be on the watch out when the Story Description changes to reflect it.

2) I'm going to add more fluffy moments before the angst happens and during the angst to help balance it out.

3) I'm going to divide the 21,000+ words chapters up into smaller chapters (or any chapters over 3,000-5,000 words).

That's probably not everything that I'm changing but that's all I can think of at the moment.

I also wanted to say that since the rewrite of this story is going to be drastically different than the original (at least in the beginning), that I've decided to keep this story up and instead post the rewrite of this story as:

"Second Chances Shouldn't Go To Waste: Rewrite"

It will have a somewhat similar summary and tags. I'm still worldbuilding the rewrite so it's probably going to be a while before I start posting the rewrite continuously. I will be posting the first chapter sometime this week (either today or another day).

Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a good New Years' Eve!


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